Shantou, China, December 1, 2021: With the Shantou 2021 Asian Youth Games now due to take place in December 2022, organising committee SAYGOC can look back on a busy and productive year of preparations.
SAYGOC made significant progress in 2021 and achieved impressive results in terms of the organisation of the sports, venue construction, Games services, publicity and marketing.
As of now, the technical delegate has been confirmed for 21 sports/disciplines. SAYGOC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 17 Asian Federations or International Federations and is in close communication with the remaining four sports federations that govern water polo, football, surfing and windsurfing in order to sign the MoU as soon as possible.
SAYGOC has also finished the construction and renovation of 25 competition venues and the Athletes Village and has made steady progress in preparing the venues for competition.
After the AYG, all venues will be available for the public, either as university sports facilities or public venues to accommodate cultural and sports activities, national fitness programmes, sports events and other activities. Shantou will host the Guangdong Youth Championships in the near future to test the venues and the operation of the various functional areas.
SAYGOC has also appointed a Deputy Competition Manager for 21 sports/disciplines who will inspect the design standard of the competition and training venues and functional rooms and help solve specific problems through coordination.
SAYGOC has formulated the creative concepts for the opening and closing ceremonies and the torch relay, as well as the preliminary plan for a youth cultural and educational programme.
The branding, or “look of the Games” visual identity system, has been approved by the OCA and is about to be released to the public.
Shantou 2021 has also attracted widespread support, notably from China’s first space traveller, Yang Liwei, Shantou-born Tokyo Olympic diving champion Xie Siyi, who has been appointed AYG Ambassador, and from a local citizen who scaled Mount Everest and took a photo at the summit holding the AYG mascot Jinfengwa.
SAYGOC has also signed sponsorship agreements across seven categories - banking, insurance, furniture, ticketing services, dairy, legal services and tea.
“SAYGOC will continue to advance the sports entry programme as scheduled, make meticulous preparations for the Chefs de Mission Seminar, test events, opening and closing ceremonies and other major events,” SAYGOC said.
“The organising committee will also strengthen the publicity and marketing of the Games to enhance its visibility and impact in order to host a youth sporting and cultural event,” SAYGOC said.
The new dates for the OCA’s third AYG in Shantou – a port city in Guangdong province – are December 20-28, 2022.
