An event that promotes the Olympic spirit, the YOG combines sporting excellence with educational and cultural aspects in a unique way. The event aims to enhance sporting awareness among young people, to promote a healthy lifestyle and to deepen mutual understanding by providing a platform for interaction and exchange.

It was a historical moment for China when Nanjing was elected host city of the 2014 Youth Olympic Games at the IOC Session in Vancouver in 2010. Only very rarely has the IOC attributed the Games to the same country within a time span of just six years.

The success of Beijing 2008 was certainly an important factor in IOC members voting for Nanjing, as was the considerable economic growth in the region in recent years. But the key for Nanjing in winning the bid was its cultural heritage as an ancient city. The former Chinese capital city on the banks of Qinhuai River is home to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, among other cultural legacies of the Ming Dynasty.

With its foundation of history and culture, and its ambition for development in the fields of education and sports, Nanjing presents itself as the ideal host for these Youth Olympic Games. Some of China’s most reverent philosophers already knew centuries ago that “the youth of the world are the key to the future.”