Lausanne 2020

Lausanne 2020, the third edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games, brought the Games to the Olympic Capital. The Games also marked the first time in 72 years the movement returned to Switzerland after Saint Moritz in 1948. Lausanne 2020 encouraged youth to “start now,” to illustrate a starting point for young people to launch careers in sport, on or off the playing field.

One of the highlights of Lausanne 2020 was the intensive promotion of the use of public transport, including for athletes’ travel. This helped to minimize Lausanne 2020’s carbon footprint and served as a key reference for future editions of the Youth Olympic Games. Additionally, pre-existing venues were prioritised and only venues constructed for a specific use after the Games were built. The competitions took place in the cantons of Vaud (Lausanne, La Vallée de Joux, Leysin, Les Diablerets, Villars), Valais (Champéry), Graubünden (St. Moritz) and neighbouring France (Les Rousses, Tuffes stadium). Eight sports and 16 disciplines were on the programme. In total 81 events brought together 1,784 athletes from 79 NOCs. 130,000 kids from local schools where involved in the preparation of the YOG, while 80,000 kids came to enjoy the sports competitions and participated in the rich "Learn and Share" program organized in Lausanne and in all the host sites.