Nanjing (China): With the turn of a symbolic golden key and a shower of golden confetti, the Youth Olympic Village (YOV) officially opened here Tuesday.
Ten minutes before the scheduled 8:30 a.m (local time) opening time the audience dressed in the official NYCOG uniforms, media and officials were buzzing with excitement waiting for the ceremony to start, reports Xinhua.
Miao Ruilin, the mayor of Nanjing, welcomed the audience with a speech, saying,"the official opening of YOV indicates that Nanjing Youth Olympics have now opened its arms to welcome all teams."
Yang Shu`an, the NYOGOC executive president and the Chinese Olympic Committee vice president, welcomed the young athletes to the village and expressed his belief that they would enjoy the competition, facilities and the elaborate cultural and education programme prepared by the NYOGOC.
"The Youth Olympic Games aim to encourage the young people to actively participate in the Olympic Games, improve their overall abilities, enhance their sense of social responsibility, and foster a healthy lifestyle," he said.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive director Gilbert Felli addressed the ceremony on behalf of the president, Thomas Bach, who wished a comfortable and secure stay for all the young athletes and officials.
Yang Weize, NYOGOC executive president and secretary of the Nanjing Municipal Party Committee declared the YOV open, which was the signal for the confetti shower and the start of a dance performance.
Pre-school girls clad in bright pink dresses with huge bows in their hair danced gracefully while official IOC guests waved Games mascots in sync with the music.
As of Tuesday morning there were more than 400 residents at the village.
"It`s going smooth and everyone feels very happy here," said YOG spokeswoman Ding Qing.
The last delegations are scheduled to arrive Aug 15. All of the athletes are expected to attend the opening ceremony, but are allowed to leave early, Ding said.
Every facility at the village is already operational except the World Culture and IOC booths, which will start functioning after the arrival of all the athletes.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.