With a video of the President of the Republic, Gabriel Boric, it was announced on Monday that Chile has made official its interest in hosting the 2030 Youth Olympic Games, in addition to Santiago's ongoing bid to host future Olympic Games.
"I would like to express the commitment and support of the State of Chile to Santiago's bid to host the Youth Olympic Games. This bid is in addition to the agenda of major events we already have underway, which will allow us to host this year the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the World Track Cycling Championship, the AmeriCup women's basketball tournament and the Parapan American Youth Games, in addition to the Special Olympics World Games to be held in Chile in 2027," said the President.
Chile's road to the Youth Games
The formalization of the application was made a few weeks ago through a letter sent by the president of the Chilean Olympic Committee (Coch), Miguel Angel Mujica, to the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, backed by a document signed by the Minister of Sport, Jaime Pizarro, where the endorsement of the State of Chile to this candidacy is delivered.
The news was revealed in the ParqueMet with Santiago at its feet, in an event attended by the Minister of the Interior, Álvaro Elizalde, together with the country's highest sports authorities and the governor of Santiago, Claudio Orrego, as well as a group of athletes and former athletes from Team Chile.
The Minister of Sport, Jaime Pizarro, highlighted Chile's experience in hosting events of this nature: "Our country has demonstrated an excellent capacity to manage and organize international sporting events, which adds to the first-class sports infrastructure that is part of the legacy of the Santiago 2023 Pan American and Parapan American Games. We are convinced that the promotion and dissemination of sport and physical activity are central elements for a more cohesive society with greater well-being in all its dimensions. This must be a State effort, where both the public and private sectors contribute and participate."
At the Youth Olympic Games athletes up to 17 years old participate and its next edition will be held in 2026 in Dakar, Senegal, venue granted for the year 2022, but which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its last version was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2018, in an event that was attended by more than 4,000 athletes from 206 countries, who competed in 32 disciplines.
Team Chile has participated in the three editions of the Summer Youth Olympic Games (Singapore 2010, Nanjing 2014 and Buenos Aires 2018).
Read the note on the Ministry of Sport's website
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