The International Olympic Committee (IOC) unveiled the names of the cities from which a final winner to host the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2023 will be voted on by the IOC membership. Moscow and Singapore were chosen by the Executive Board and will now be submitted to a postal vote by the IOC members. The winning city will be announced by IOC President Jacques Rogge in a live web cast on www.olympic.org provisionally scheduled for 21 February.

The EB decision’s on the 2 finalists was based on an IOC Evaluation Commission report. Chaired by Sergey Bubka, the Commission assessed the five shortlisted Candidate Cities’ projects - Athens (Greece), Bangkok (Thailand), Moscow (Russia), Singapore (Singapore) and Turin (Italy). The report focused on the risks associated with the organization of the Games with only two-and-a-half years remaining to plan and prepare to host the first edition of this new event.

Voting by post will take place over the coming weeks, with all IOC members, except those from the Russian Federation and Singapore, entitled to vote. The city with the most number of votes will be elected as the Host City of the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2023.  In the event of a tie, the IOC President will consult the EB members entitled to vote and will make the final decision based on this consultation. An independent and certified notary based in Lausanne, Switzerland, will oversee the process to guarantee confidentiality.

Source: IOC