The Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee was dissolved, as planned, on June 30, 2020, five months after the end of the Games. On July 1, at a press conference, the president of the Organizing Committee Virginie Faivre and the director Ian Logan presented their final conclusions in the presence of many personalities, including the president of Swiss Olympic Jürg Stahl. We learned, among other things, that the Lausanne YOG will end with an operating profit of 400,000 Swiss francs. The public’s verdict was also positive. 350,000 spectators followed the competitions in the different stadiums. A total of 640,000 people visited the various sites of the Games. Over 150 million people around the world watched Lausanne 2020 TV coverage on the rights holders’ platforms. The broadcast of the opening ceremony on January 9 reached a market share of 25% on the RTS channel in French-speaking Switzerland.
The Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne also had a positive impact in terms of sustainability. The wide acceptance by athletes and the public of the need to use public transport has also contributed to this. Over 80% of the delegations only used the public transport available to them.
The organizing committee also addressed the issue of the legacy of the Games. This heritage is diverse in social, sporting and economic terms, as well as in terms of sustainability. This legacy will be managed by a foundation, which is currently in its creation phase. The foundation’s task will be to use the spirit and experience of Lausanne 2020 for future national and international sports initiatives.
At the press conference, Jürg Stahl, President of Swiss Olympic, said: “The Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne were a great success at all levels, especially for our young Swiss athletes, who won 24 medals . But beyond the result, the most important is the experience they acquired during this major event in their own country, also thanks to the warm atmosphere. Switzerland loves sport and its youth: it is an excellent prospect for the future. ”
Virginie Faivre, President of Lausanne 2020: “If Lausanne 2020 was the big party it was, it’s thanks to you. For 14 days, we gathered, we sang, danced, and applauded the youth who dares, who undertakes and surpasses themselves. All together, we celebrated a new kind of intelligent and sustainable Olympic Games. And we have shown the world a facet of our country that it perhaps knows a little less: a sports Switzerland, which believes in its youth, a Switzerland which trains and which innovates. For all this, thank you. So, in order for the spirit of Lausanne 2020 to continue and for us to continue to promote sport in young people in our country, I say: start now! ”
Ian Logan, Managing Director of Lausanne 2020: “The success of Lausanne 2020 is due first and foremost to a great organizing team, so dedicated and so motivated. We also owe these 4172 volunteers who were the smiles of the Games. We owe it to the commitment of all the host sites, who believed in the event by seeing it as a unique opportunity to shine. We owe it to the hundreds of teachers and thousands of students who spoke about Olympism and the values of sport in the classroom before coming to celebrate athletes from around the world during the event. We owe it to our universities, our clubs and sports associations. And of course we owe it to the Olympic Capital, which opened its arms to the first Olympic event in its history. To all of you, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. ”
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