http://www.todayonline.com/Commentary/EDC100807-0000036/One-last-push-for-the-YOG,-please
One last push for the YOG, please
There is still little noise among Singaporeans for the Games and Syogoc need to step up
by Leonard Thomas
05:55 AM Aug 07, 2010
One week to go before the birth of the Youth Olympics Games and Singapore has yet to feel the excitement.
I know many in the sports industry are alarmed over the lack of interest among Singaporeans, with tickets for the opening ceremony on Aug 14 still available and many not sold for a number of sports events.
The last time Singapore hosted the SEA Games was in 1993, admittedly, few here have had experience putting together an event of this magnitude.
But I wonder if the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (Syogoc) have done enough to stoke the flames to generate a buzz.
Over the last few weeks MediaCorp have furnished Syogoc with a number of requests and queries in an effort to deliver newsworthy stories on the Games for Singaporeans, but the response has sadly been lukewarm.
I was bemused when a member of the communications and public relations division of Syogoc claimed they would not know when contingents arrive here.
Maybe with 205 National Olympic Committees represented at the Games, it is too much to expect, but surely Ghana's boys' hockey team should have been greeted with some fanfare at Changi Airport when they were the first athletes to arrive here on Tuesday night.
MediaCorp was the only news organisation there to cover their arrival, along with two officials from the Singapore Hockey Federation, but there was no song and dance.
Some months back, Ivan Heng, the creative director, gave an insight into the concept of the opening ceremony of the Games at a media briefing and I remember coming away thinking it will be something not to be missed.
Clearly, Heng's story has not been communicated to Singaporeans.
Over the last few weeks, the Olympic flame has travelled to five cities after being lit in Olympia, Greece.
The idea to promote the Games globally is a laudable one but I cannot help but feel so much has been put into the flame's journey across five continents - even a private jet was hired for the round-the-world trip - to generate buzz while little has been done to drum up the noise in the host nation.
I still don't see waiters and waitresses from bars and restaurants in the city wearing shirts with Youth Olympic Games motifs, so many of the Singaporeans I meet continue to be puzzled by the lack of excitement in the country.
There is no doubt chairman Ng Ser Miang and his team at Syogoc are dealing with a public notorious for only wanting to see the best acts and the top-rated events.
Singaporeans want world-class, but many of them will baulk if they have to pay top dollar to catch it.
It means a unique battle plan is required for them to latch on to a Games which will see athletes aged between 14 and 18 years do battle for gold.
With a week to go, there is still time to capture the imagination of more Singaporeans.
On Saturday, the flame will begin a six-day journey round the island.
While the organisers of the National Day Parade will not want the Games to overshadow the celebration, I hope the segment on the Youth Olympics in the programme will be a tasty morsel of what is around the corner.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter will be in town for a press conference on the football tournament of the Games on Wednesday, many of the world's best athletes will be in Singapore next week.
The opening ceremony promises to be an event to remember.
Our nation's best young athletes are primed to lock horns with them, I hope Syogoc have a few tricks up their sleeve to fan the flames in the final straight.
One last push for the YOG, please
There is still little noise among Singaporeans for the Games and Syogoc need to step up
by Leonard Thomas
05:55 AM Aug 07, 2010
One week to go before the birth of the Youth Olympics Games and Singapore has yet to feel the excitement.
I know many in the sports industry are alarmed over the lack of interest among Singaporeans, with tickets for the opening ceremony on Aug 14 still available and many not sold for a number of sports events.
The last time Singapore hosted the SEA Games was in 1993, admittedly, few here have had experience putting together an event of this magnitude.
But I wonder if the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (Syogoc) have done enough to stoke the flames to generate a buzz.
Over the last few weeks MediaCorp have furnished Syogoc with a number of requests and queries in an effort to deliver newsworthy stories on the Games for Singaporeans, but the response has sadly been lukewarm.
I was bemused when a member of the communications and public relations division of Syogoc claimed they would not know when contingents arrive here.
Maybe with 205 National Olympic Committees represented at the Games, it is too much to expect, but surely Ghana's boys' hockey team should have been greeted with some fanfare at Changi Airport when they were the first athletes to arrive here on Tuesday night.
MediaCorp was the only news organisation there to cover their arrival, along with two officials from the Singapore Hockey Federation, but there was no song and dance.
Some months back, Ivan Heng, the creative director, gave an insight into the concept of the opening ceremony of the Games at a media briefing and I remember coming away thinking it will be something not to be missed.
Clearly, Heng's story has not been communicated to Singaporeans.
Over the last few weeks, the Olympic flame has travelled to five cities after being lit in Olympia, Greece.
The idea to promote the Games globally is a laudable one but I cannot help but feel so much has been put into the flame's journey across five continents - even a private jet was hired for the round-the-world trip - to generate buzz while little has been done to drum up the noise in the host nation.
I still don't see waiters and waitresses from bars and restaurants in the city wearing shirts with Youth Olympic Games motifs, so many of the Singaporeans I meet continue to be puzzled by the lack of excitement in the country.
There is no doubt chairman Ng Ser Miang and his team at Syogoc are dealing with a public notorious for only wanting to see the best acts and the top-rated events.
Singaporeans want world-class, but many of them will baulk if they have to pay top dollar to catch it.
It means a unique battle plan is required for them to latch on to a Games which will see athletes aged between 14 and 18 years do battle for gold.
With a week to go, there is still time to capture the imagination of more Singaporeans.
On Saturday, the flame will begin a six-day journey round the island.
While the organisers of the National Day Parade will not want the Games to overshadow the celebration, I hope the segment on the Youth Olympics in the programme will be a tasty morsel of what is around the corner.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter will be in town for a press conference on the football tournament of the Games on Wednesday, many of the world's best athletes will be in Singapore next week.
The opening ceremony promises to be an event to remember.
Our nation's best young athletes are primed to lock horns with them, I hope Syogoc have a few tricks up their sleeve to fan the flames in the final straight.
