Nanjing vows to be frugal on Youth Olympics

The Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee vows to spend less money than Singapore did four years ago in the inaugural event.

Aiming to deliver a frugal and sustainable Youth Olympics, Nanjing set an initial overall budget that is 10 percent less than Singapore’s, and has been preparing the event strictly within the budget, said Yang Weize, executive president of the Nanjing committee, on Thursday.

The Singapore Youth Games exceeded its original budget of $104 million by over three times.

"We will set examples for future major sporting events by using temporary venues and saving on administrative costs," said Yang, who led a local team to study the London Olympics' sustainable operation model in 2012.

According to the organizing committee, only one of the 35 venues for competition and training is newly built and the remaining venues are renovated facilities.

Nanjing officials said they were accepting donated machinery from Singapore, which has helped further reduce costs.

"Singapore has given its ticket-checking machines to Nanjing," said Liu Yi'an, the deputy secretary-general of the organizing committee. "We may also donate our facilities to other host cities of major sporting events."