2010 Summer Youth Olympics |
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The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics torch relay was run from 23 July until 14 August 2010, prior to the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics held in Singapore. The torch relay was termed The Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame, or JYOF, by the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC). It began with the traditional flame lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece on 23 July 2010, and was followed by a 13-day round the world tour across five cities, namely Berlin, Germany; Dakar, Senegal; Mexico City, Mexico; Auckland, New Zealand; and Seoul, South Korea. Following the international leg, the torch arrived in host city Singapore on 6 August 2010 for the domestic leg.
Although the International Olympic Committee decided that all Olympic torch relays beyond the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing would be held within the host city, an exception was made for Singapore. The torch traversed the five cities, representing the five continents of the world: Europe, Africa, Americas, Oceania and Asia, in the given order. A number of famous athletes, leaders, and media personalities were involved the torch relay. Notably, a schoolboy, Low Wei Jie, was given the opportunity to bear the torch following local newspaper reports of him having chased after the torch throughout the day earlier.
The organisers felt that as the games were the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, it was significant for the spirit of Olympism to reach out to as many youth as possible across the world. The torch relay was held as "the link that connects (sic) the youth of the world to the Olympic movement". While there was active community participation in the torch relay, some were reserved about the event and the games itself. However, there were no major disruptions or protests throughout the torch relay, unlike the earlier Beijing Olympics torch relay. The torch relay was brought to an end on 13 August, when Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew lit the cauldron at Marina Bay. However, the Youth Olympic flame was to last till the closing ceremony of the games.