Organisation In October 2013,
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President
Thomas Bach appointed Namibian sprinter and four-time Olympic silver medalist
Frank Fredericks as Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games — Buenos Aires 2018. Fredericks was heading the six-person IOC Coordination Commission made up of several Olympians including
Danka Bartekova, the youngest IOC Member and Young Ambassador from the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in
Singapore in 2010. This commission was completed by two other IOC members, China's
Li Lingwei, winner of three
World Badminton Championships, and
Barry Maister, a member of New Zealand's hockey team that won the Olympic gold medals at
1976 Summer Olympics in
Montreal; and
Adham Sharara, Canadian President of the
International Table Tennis Federation, and Henry Nuñez, head of the National Olympic Committee of Costa Rica. Working along with them there was the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (BAYOGOC), that includes member of the
Argentine Olympic Committee (AOC), the local government and the national government, and which CEO was Leandro Larrosa. The local organising committee involves young people in all levels of the organization; including an 'Athlete Commission' and a newly established 'Youth Commission' – a group of young consultants chosen by the AOC from local schools and universities – and the employees within BAYOGOC from junior to director level. The first Coordination Commission meeting took place in Buenos Aires on 27–28 September 2014. at
Plaza de la República During June 2015 a small delegation from
Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee (NYOGOC) visited Buenos Aires for a series of debriefing workshops and seminars to pass on their expertise focusing on strategic decisions to be made in the early stages such as legacy, the use of the YOG to impact youth and sport, and benefits of the YOG to engage communities. The CEOs of
Singapore 2010,
Lillehammer 2016 and
Innsbruck 2012 also took part of these meetings that were presided over by Frank Fredericks. Football player and Olympic gold medalist
Lionel Messi, originally not from Buenos Aires but from
Rosario, was named as an ambassador of the 2018 YOG in March 2014, and he delivered a video welcoming message for the young athletes to Buenos Aires during the closing ceremony of the
2014 Summer Youth Olympics. In December 2015, the four-time Olympic medalist
Luciana Aymar was also named as an ambassador of Buenos Aires 2018. In July 2017, Olympic gold medalist
Luis Scola was named ambassador of the 2018 YOG. Joining the Olympic programme for the first time at Buenos Aires 2018 were
BMX freestyle,
kitesurfing,
cross country running,
beach handball,
sport climbing,
karate,
breakdancing, and
roller sports; and the event programme saw an increased gender balance.
FIFA also decided to replace
football with
futsal at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympics, while other sports such as
skateboarding were being considered for the programme.
Roller speed skating was added to the Olympic programme on 17 March 2017.
Venues The original plan was based on the
bid for the
2004 Summer Olympics, in which a 15 km long
Olympic Corridor would have worked instead of a more concentrated
Olympic Park. For the
Buenos Aires bid for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics the
Olympic Corridor was adapted into a
Green Corridor, one of the two main sports zones as the primary sites of the Games in Buenos Aires 2018, being the other one Parque Roca, to the south of the city. The
Green Corridor and the
Olympic Corridor shared
River Plate Stadium,
Tiro Federal,
Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires,
Parque Tres de Febrero,
La Bombonera,
La Rural and
CeNARD as venues. In order to group the sports in a more compact framework, in September 2014 a new four-clusters concept was revealed, dropping out venues such as
La Rural. It was announced then that each cluster would include an area called YOG FEST where sporting experiences, family entertainment and cultural activities would take place. But at the
129th IOC Session, in August 2016, a new venues masterplan was presented, including two new stand-alone venues, adding
La Rural once again and replacing
Parque Sarmiento with
Tecnópolis. The
International Olympic Committee members stayed at the
Sheraton Hotel, located in the district of
Retiro and close to
Retiro railway station, one of the most important transportation hubs in Buenos Aires. After numerous changes, in February 2018, the definitive venues plan was presented. The Opening Ceremony was held at the
Obelisco de Buenos Aires.
A. Green Park hosted the triathlon, beach volley and cycling Adjacent to downtown
Buenos Aires and stretching three kilometres along the scenic banks of the
River Plate, this area was distinguished by swathes of parks. It included the
barrios of
Núñez and
Palermo. The
Palermo Woods, a highly popular retreat for
porteños and visitors alike, was the triathlon and cycling venue. Venues located in Núñez can be reached by
Belgrano Norte Line (at
Ciudad Universitaria railway station) or by nearby
Mitre Line (at
Núñez Station) or
Buenos Aires underground Line D (at
Congreso de Tucumán Station). Venues located in Palermo can be reached by Mitre Line (
Tres de Febrero and
Lisandro de la Torre station).
B. Olympic Park for Buenos Aires 2018 seen from the
Space Needle, May 2018. Located to the South of Buenos Aires, Roca Park is a vast area of 200 hectares in the district of
Villa Soldati, a neighborhood that has been targeted by the local Government in need of urban development. One of the greenest areas in the metropolis, it is adjacent to the
City Park and the Buenos Aires
Automotive Racetrack. The Park, inaugurated in the 1980s, has many sports venues and recreational facilities, including the iconic Roca Park Athletics Stadium and the
Roca Park Tennis Stadium. This area was also the site of the
Youth Olympic Village (YOV), from where 65 per cent of the athletes were able to walk to their competition venues, and after the event it would become the new location for the
CeNARD. The
Parque Polideportivo Roca was fully renovated before the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in order to be used as main
Olympic Park. Six pavilions were built: Asia Pavilion (judo and wrestling), Africa Pavilion (fencing and modern pentathlon), Europe Pavilion (karate and weightlifting), Oceania Pavilion (boxing and taekwondo), America Pavilion (gymnastics) and natatorium. The complex also includes hockey and athletics fields. Olympic Park can be reached by
Premetro tram at
Cecilia Grierson station, or by the southern
Metrobus line. is next to the
City Park, where the
Youth Olympic Village was built, and where the 200 meters high
Space Needle is located. was fully covered
C. Urban Park Located to the east of the city, this cluster occupies a significant portion of the
Río de la Plata riverbank and includes the old
Puerto Madero docks as venue for water sports. Rowing competitions were held over 500 metres rather than the usual 2,000 metres. This area can be reached by
Buenos Aires Underground lines
A,
B,
D and
E. hosted events of three water sports
D. Techno Park Located west of the city and next to the
General Paz Avenue which marks the limit of Buenos Aires city, the 50 hectares science, technology, industry and art mega exhibition
Tecnópolis was inaugurated in 2011 and was the venue for four sports competitions. This area can be accessed by
Mitre Line Railway at Migueletes station or by
Belgrano Norte Line at Saavedra or Padilla stations.
E. Stand-alone venues ==The Games==