Sweden is planning to bid for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games. Stefan Lindeberg, Swedish Olympic Committee (SOC) chairman, is quoted on a Swedish website saying, “we have informed the government”, adding, “it would be tremendously exciting to implement it and I think we need this type of arrangement”.
“We have contact with Gothenburg, Malmo and Stockholm on this”, he said.
Sweden must apply to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in October.
The SOC would like to host the Summer Youth Olympic Games to strengthen its summer sports. Lindeberg said, “in winter we have already strong business, but in summer we see a lot of sports where we really falter”.
He called the Youth Games “a turning point and a springboard for the future”.
Meanwhile the British Olympic Association (BOA) says it has received a submission from Glasgow to be the candidate city if the BOA bids for the 2018 Youth Olympics.
According to The Associated Press, the BOA says Glasgow, host of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, was the only city to meet Monday’s deadline for British cities to declare their interest in the 2018 Summer Youth Games.
The BOA and Glasgow officials will now meet over the next four weeks to decide whether a viable bid can be made, reports The Associated Press.
The IOC’s deadline for submissions is March 1, the IOC will publish its shortlist in January 2013 and announce the host city later that year.
