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by Marcel Lee Pereira
FOR the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2010 to be a success, Singaporeans must feel strong ownership of the event.
That is the biggest observation Mr Goh Kee Nguan, chief executive officer of Singapore's YOG organising committee, took away from his visit to the Beijing Olympics last month.
Mr Goh, formerly a brigadier-general with the Singapore Armed Forces, was there from Aug 4 to 16 to watch and learn how things were done, before returning home to continue planning Singapore's 2010 event.
A masterplan for the YOG is due to be submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this month.
Under IOC's knowledge transfer programme for future host cities, Singapore sent two teams of eight to Beijing, one after the other.
They viewed everything from the preparations for the opening ceremony to the celebrations on the last day, exploring key areas such as the media centre, the games village, and the various sports venues.
At the sports arenas, they observed how each event was run and how spectators were managed.
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| Photo: Zaobao |
They saw the types of system used for timing and scoring and the preparations that took place backstage.
They also met representatives from companies that were supporting the Beijing Games.
Some of them could be potential contractors and sponsors for the YOG.
Speaking to my paper last week, Mr Goh shares five tips he brought back from Beijing.
For more my paper stories click here.
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