Buenos Aires to Bid for 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games

Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri announced that the city is set to bid for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Games.

The announcement was made together with Gerardo Werthein, the President of the Argentinian Olympic Committee, at a special ceremony at the headquarter of the Buenos Aires Government. 

Werthein said: “It is the beginning of a great dream, This is a very strong move because the Olympics have a huge audience and would put Buenos Aires and Argentina at the centre of the world. Sport is a key issue. We will emphasise the importance of investing in the seed for a future sporting potential for Argentina.

“But the initiative is not only about sports but also about cultural and social integration. The goal is for children around the world to compete and share values of respect for competition and in life.
This helps build a better society. Hosting this event could be the beginning of a way to think of an Olympic bid six or ten years later.”

Competition to host the third Summer Youth Olympics is fierce with Monterrey in Mexico, Medellín in Colombia, Kazan in Russia, The Hague in the Netherlands and Abuja in Nigeria all likely to bid for the competition.

Makhachkala, in Dagestan, a neighbour of Chechnya, has also expressed an interest in bidding.

Buenos Aires have previosly bid for the 2004 Olympics and Paralympics but were knocked out in the first round.