Thousands gather for YOG

Six events free to spectators in Nanjing: organizers

Thousands of young athletes will converge in Nanjing, -capital city of East China's -Jiangsu province this week for the -second Youth Olympic Games (YOG), with many hoping to build toward a place at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

More than 3,700 competitors aged 15 to 18 are expected to participate in the tournament, which will start with a glittering opening ceremony on Saturday.

Among the athletes who won medals in the first Youth Olympic Games, in Singapore in 2010, are swimmers Chad le Clos and Emma McKeon, and Chinese diver Qiu Bo.

That inaugural event was marred by scenes of empty seats at events despite fans -being told they were sold out, resulting in bizarre queues outside half-empty venues.

Chinese organizers said they had learned from the problems in Singapore, which also suffered a cost blowout after officials badly underestimated expenditure.

"We learnt from Singapore and downsized venues like hockey," Games official Zhou Xiaoguang told China's Xinhua News Agency.

"We have also modified indoor volleyball to beach volleyball, so it will be easier for more people to watch."

Famed ceremony director Chen Weiya introduced his creative team to the international media in Nanjing on Thursday.

Chen said the opening ceremony would be filled with performances highlighting the culture, history and people of Nanjing and of China both past and present.

He said Saturday night's event would be delivered at one-tenth the cost of the opening ceremony at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and would involve one-third the number of performers - but it would lack nothing for originality and spectacle.

Golf and rugby will make their long-awaited return to the Olympic fold, after gaps of 110 and 90 years respectively, in a 28-sport schedule which mirrors the roster in place for 2016.

According to organizers, tickets for six of the 28 sports will be free for spectators. These include the triathlon, road cycling, mountain bike, 8x100 meters relay, rowing and canoeing events.

According to Han Dong, an official with the Marketing -Department of the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee (NYOGOC), these events cover a wide area in an outdoor setting. As a result, NYOGOC wanted to provide a free, open space for spectators because the competition routes can't be easily encircled by the spectators like a soccer game in a stadium.

Han said it was important for NYOGOC to let Nanjing's residents and tourists watch the Games for free in the venues, as this would also serve as an excellent promotion for the city.