As the inaugural Youth Olympic Games end, it's time that we see the successes and failures of this event. Olympic Games always interests me, so I have been following the games and matches for the past 2 weeks. It's special when an event on such a large scale is held in your own home country, so that's partially the reason why I watched it. So here goes....
Torch Relay:
It was quite sad that there wasn't a world relay, but i guess that's because its YOG, it's a smaller scale event, so the torch relay is more small scale too. And since this is the last time there will be worldwide torch relay, the following relays will only take place in the home country. Being a torchbearer, I got a first hand experience of the atmosphere of the relay and it was fantastic. The support from the public was definitely there although there were some streets that were literally empty, but it's nice to see the support.
Opening Ceremony:
It was quite good and it started the games with a bang. Can never get enough of fireworks. Although the parade of nations section was kind of a screwup (the flagbearers didn't know where to go and ended up making a fool of themselves in front of the camera). Other than that, the ceremony was short and sweet. The lighting of the cauldron was cool too
The events and competitions:
Didn't go down to watch any of the events (too lazy) but once again, just like the Asian Youth Games, the YOG suffered from attendance problems. Most of the venues were half-full while some are nearly empty. Only events that featured Singapore athletes had a jam packed site. Events like football and swimming had arenas that were filled to the max. Popular sports like basketball also had a good attendance. But most of the time, I only see the athletes, and empty seats. Lots of empty seats.
Also, infrastructure is not very good. We saw a collapse of the roof in the basketball venue and we have no national stadium, unless you consider the floating platform as a stadium. Other than that, the infrastructure needs to have more planning beforehand.
The Athletes:
Young, yet able to deliver like an adult olympian. Great sportsmanship and teamwork by all the athletes. Good to see that athletes from different countries are actually becoming friends. Furthermore, it was a good idea to have mixed teams competition, it kinda strengthen bonds
Closing Ceremony:
It had the atmosphere of a party, but also a feeling of emptiness and sadness. The closing ceremony was much like the opening ceremony, just that it's much shorter. The people who were gave the speech became Steve Jobs for a day: they say one sentence, and the 27000-strong crowd goes crazy. The way they put out the flame was unique and much better than i thought.
Overall, it is encouraging to see that the YOG was met with quite a big success and went on smoothly. However, the disappointing part lies on the budget and of course, the attendance issue. But this being the first YOG, there is no doubt that there will be hiccups here and there, so as a whole, the event was considered to be a job well done. Out of ten, I will give it a 6.75 out of 10
11:39:00 pm
