Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital city, is hosting the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), and is going all out to make it the most diverse, varied and spectacular YOG of all.
This is only the third Youth Olympic Games, but already the local Buenos Aires 2018 Organizing Committee (BAYOGOC) is shaking things up. The group proposed to add three new sports with medal events in order to bring even more innovation to its Games.
And the International Olympic Committee quickly approved all three - dance sport, karate and sport climbing.
That's in addition to the record 28 other sports that will be contested at the 2018 YOG.
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Following the YOG Tripartite Working Group recommendations for the future of the Youth Olympic Games adopted by the IOC Session last August in Rio de Janeiro - site of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games - and in line with the Buenos Aires 2018 mission to "bring sport to the people," the BAYOGOC proposed that the three sports be integrated into the Urban Park and Youth Olympic Park. Those are two of the four parks concept that will be spread across the city of Buenos Aires, featuring a mix of sport, culture and educational activities in a festive atmosphere.
The three new sports reflect the IOC's and Buenos Aires 2018's shared goal of building youth engagement, and thus represent a mix of emerging, universal and urban sports with a significant youth appeal.
While dance sport is a completely new event to the Olympic program according to the IOC, karate and sport climbing will be a teaser of what's to come in 2020 at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and will strengthen the Youth Olympic Games reputation to act as an incubator and as a place of innovation for the Olympic Movement.
With complete gender equality achieved for the first time at an Olympic event at Buenos Aires 2018, the three new sports will also feature equal numbers of men and women.
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