PM Lee Hsien Loong at the 99-Day Celebration to the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games

In just 99 days, Singapore will be hosting the first ever Youth Olympic Games (YOG). Our journey began three years ago, when the IOC created the Youth Olympic Games, and we decided to bid to host the Games. Some people thought that Singapore was too small and perhaps too inexperienced to host an Olympic event like this one. But we decided to give it a go. We put our heads together, developed a proposal, and submitted a bid. And so, on 21 February 2008, the IOC declared Singapore as the winning host city.

Some of you may have been with me on that day at the Padang, as we waited for the announcement of the results. We were one of two remaining contenders; nobody knew who was going to win, but anyway we went there determined to cheer. And when IOC President Jacques Rogge announced that Singapore had won, the whole field erupted with joy.

That was more than two years ago, and now the Games are almost upon us And SYOGOC has been hard at work, actively coordinating with the IOC and the National Olympic Committees and International Federations to deliver a YOG which will be of the highest standards as an international sporting event, and to give participating athletes an enriching experience in Singapore.

This has been a very major undertaking for us. It has needed careful planning and coordination and putting all the pieces together. Everybody in the right place, with the right equipment, right uniforms. So, logistics has been a key area. And since last month, we have been getting our Youth Olympic Logistics Hub ready. And there we will have all the equipment and systems needed assembled for the Games. Within a week it will receive equipment that will broadcast the Games live to viewers around the world. And next month, the Venue Managers of SYOGOC will lead their teams to the YOG venues all over the island, to put in the technology, fit out the facilities, test the systems and carry out exercises, make sure everything is ready to go when the Games happen.

We are supporting this strongly from the Government. Many government agencies are providing their expertise. We have the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, the LTA, the Police, and many others to make sure it is a safe, smooth, successful Games. And more than 1,000 civil servants will be joining SYOGOC to organise the YOG as volunteers.

We also have 20,000 members of the public who are volunteering for this Games. They are very enthusiastic, you heard one of them; let us give them a cheer. Some of you volunteered as early as two years ago, when we won the bid, and you were fired up by the excitement of Singapore’s win. And now is your chance to contribute significantly to make a successful inaugural YOG in Singapore.

You are going to be very important people, because you are going to be the first people the athletes will greet, the officials, the delegates and spectators. And if they need anything they will turn to you, count on you. You have to be at your posts, on time, rain or shine, to take charge and deliver and make sure everything goes right. And put things right when things go wrong. So, the athletes who have trained hard and come from afar can successfully compete in the YOG. Do well, so that you give all our visitors a positive impression of Singapore at the Games. And I am confident that you will do well because you have been training since last September. And you have committed a lot of your personal time and energy into these efforts and I am sure that your commitment, and your skills, and your hard work will make a successful Games.

We are also actively assembling Team Singapore to compete. We have already got 73 athletes who have qualified - 39 from 12 individual sports and 34 from two team sports. And they have met the stringent qualification criteria. They are ready to take on the best in the world. The athletes include sailor Darren Choy, swimmers Amanda Lim, Rainer Ng and Clement Lim, fencer Rania Rahardja and many others. There are some more athletes and teams yet to be selected. And the SNOC is reviewing their participation and results, and will decide within the next few weeks. And I hope that many more athletes will make the cut, and make this a successful Games, and make us proud to be participants as well as hosts. So let us all give Team Singapore our fullest support.

Indeed, the whole of our community is strongly supporting the YOG. Schools, community groups and corporations have got involved, initiated activities and generated buzz. They have organised sports and healthy lifestyle events in celebration. And they have enabled hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans to connect with the YOG and experience its thrills.

So I hope all Singaporeans will do your part come August. We are going to be under the spotlight. This is our chance to show what we can do, to show what we are, to show our social graces. So let us imbibe the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. Be gracious, to Singaporeans as well as our guests. Welcome the world to Singapore; embrace them with our warmth and our hospitality.

The next major event after today will be the Torch Relay. We call it the Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame, or JYOF. In July, the JYOF team will depart for the Ancient Olympia in Greece to light the Olympic Flame. And it is just like what the host cities of the Summer and Winter Olympics do. And then they will bring the Olympic Flame to five cities on five continents – Berlin in Europe, Dakar in Africa, Mexico City in the Americas, Auckland in Australasia and Seoul in Asia. Then in early August they return home for a round-island Singapore Torch Relay. And finally, the Olympic Flame will light the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony on 14 August night, exactly 99 days from now.

We have the great privilege of hosting the first YOG. It is a unique opportunity for us to create a positive legacy for youths all over the world. So let us organise a memorable and successful Games. Deliver an intense, enriching and satisfying experience for everybody, Singaporeans and all our guests. Thank you very much.