The Youth Olympics are a multi-sport event organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) every two years, alternating between Summer Youth Olympics and Winter Youth Olympics. Selection of the host city is done by postal voting by the members of the IOC four to five years prior to the tournament, in which the IOC members vote between candidate cities which have submitted bids. Bids for the first four games have been made by 15 cities in 14 countries.
The bid process consists of two rounds. First, cities and national Olympic committees (NOCs) may show their interest and submit a preliminary bid, becoming applicant cities. Through analysis of the questionnaires, the IOC gave a weighted-average score to each city based on the scores obtained in each of the questionnaire's eleven themes: political and social support, general infrastructure, sports venues, Olympic Village, environment, accommodation, transport, security, past experience, finance, and legacy. IOC's executive committee then selects a short-list of candidate cities. The candidate cities are investigated by the IOC Evaluation Committee, who make an evaluation report. These submit a more extensive bid book and are subject to additional evaluation, which is presented to the IOC members. Voting occurs as an exhaustive ballot by mail, which may occur through multiple rounds until a single city holds a majority of the votes. IOC members from a candidate NOC may not vote in any round while their country remains in the election. The first two selections were done by postal votes; since the selection for the 2014 Games, voting has been done at an IOC Session.[1]
The following is a list of bids for the Summer Youth Olympics, sorted by year. It consists of the year the games were held or scheduled to be held, the date the decision was made, the city and country which issued the bid, and the result of the bid parties. The bid listed first for each games is the one selected by the IOC.
| Games | Year | Bid party | Result | Final selection process | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | NOCs | Date | IOC Session | ||||
| I | 2010 | Singapore |  Singapore |
Awarded to host the I Summer Youth Olympic Games (53 votes) | 21 February 2008 | None, Postal vote | |
| Moscow |  Russia |
Eliminated in the first voting (44 votes) | |||||
| Athens |  Greece |
Not shortlisted to the final candidature stage | |||||
| Bangkok |  Thailand |
Not shortlisted to the final candidature stage | |||||
| Turin |  Italy |
Not shortlisted to the final candidature stage | |||||
| Debrecen |  Hungary |
Not shortlisted to the candidature stage | |||||
| Guatemala City |  Guatemala |
Not shortlisted to the candidature stage | |||||
| Kuala Lumpur |  Malaysia |
Not shortlisted to the candidature stage | |||||
| Poznań |  Poland |
Not shortlisted to the candidature stage | |||||
| II | 2014 | Nanjing |  China |
Awarded to host the II Summer Youth Olympic Games (47 votes) | 10 February 2010 | 122nd in Vancouver, Canada | |
| Poznań | Poland |
Eliminated in the first voting (42 votes) | |||||
| Guadalajara |  Mexico |
Withdrew during the candidature stage | |||||
| III | 2018 | Buenos Aires |  Argentina |
Awarded to host the III Summer Youth Olympic Games (49 votes) | 4 July 2013 | Extraordinary in Lausanne, Switzerland | |
| Medellín |  Colombia |
Eliminated in the second voting (39 votes) | |||||
| Glasgow |  Great Britain |
Eliminated in the first voting (13 votes) | |||||
| Poznań | Poland |
Withdrew during the candidature stage | |||||
| Rotterdam |  Netherlands |
Withdrew during the candidature stage | |||||
| IV | 2026 (postponed from 2022) [i] | Dakar |  Senegal |
Awarded to host the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games (unanimous vote) | 8 October 2018 | 133rdinBuenos Aires, Argentina | [ii] |
| Abuja |  Nigeria |
Not invited to the candidature stage | |||||
| Gaborone |  Botswana |
Not invited to the candidature stage | |||||
| Tunis |  Tunisia |
Not invited to the candidature stage | |||||
| V | 2030 | Bangkok and Chonburi | Thailand |
In dialogue phase | |||
| TBA |  India |
In dialogue phase | |||||
The following is a list of bids for the Winter Youth Olympics, sorted by year. It consists of the year the games were held or scheduled to be held, the date the decision was made, the city and country which issued the bid, and the result of the bid parties. The bid listed first for each games is the one selected by the IOC.
| Games | Year | Bid party | Result | Final selection process | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | NOCs | Date | IOC Session | ||||
| I | 2012 | Innsbruck |  Austria |
Awarded to host the I Winter Youth Olympic Games (84 votes) | 12 December 2008 | None, Postal vote | |
| Kuopio |  Finland |
Eliminated in the first voting (15 votes) | |||||
| Harbin | China |
Not shortlisted to the final candidature stage | |||||
| Lillehammer |  Norway |
Not shortlisted to the final candidature stage | |||||
| II | 2016 | Lillehammer | Norway |
Awarded to host the II Winter Youth Olympic Games (sole bid) | 7 December 2011 | None, Postal vote | |
| III | 2020 | Lausanne |  Switzerland |
Awarded to host the III Winter Youth Olympic Games (71 votes) | 31 July 2015 | 128thinKuala Lumpur, Malaysia | |
| Brașov |  Romania |
Eliminated in the first voting (10 votes) | |||||
| IV | 2024 | Gangwon |  South Korea |
Awarded to host the IV Winter Youth Olympic Games (79 votes) | 10 January 2020 | 135th in Lausanne, Switzerland | |
| V | 2028 | Lombardy and Trentino | Italy |
In dialogue phase | 2024 | ||
The following is a list of bids submitted by city. It lists the national Olympic committee, the city, and the games for which failed and successful bid were submitted.
| City | Summer Youth Olympic Games | Winter Youth Olympic Games | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buenos Aires
|
1 (2018) | 1 (1) | |
| Innsbruck
|
1 (2012) | 1 (1) | |
| Gaborone
|
1 (2026) | 1 (0) | |
| Harbin
|
1 (2012) | 1 (0) | |
| Nanjing
|
1 (2014) | 1 (1) | |
| Medellín
|
1 (2018) | 1 (0) | |
| Kuopio
|
1 (2012) | 1 (0) | |
| Glasgow
|
1 (2018) | 1 (0) | |
| Athens
|
1 (2010) | 1 (0) | |
| Guatemala City
|
1 (2010) | 1 (0) | |
| Debrecen
|
1 (2010) | 1 (0) | |
| Turin
|
1 (2010) | 1 (0) | |
| Kuala Lumpur
|
1 (2010) | 1 (0) | |
| Guadalajara
|
1 (2014) | 1 (0) | |
| Rotterdam
|
1 (2018) | 1 (0) | |
| Abuja
|
1 (2026) | 1 (0) | |
| Lillehammer
|
2 (2012, 2016) | 2 (1) | |
| Poznań
|
3 (2010, 2014, 2018) | 3 (0) | |
| Brașov
|
1 (2020) | 1 (0) | |
| Moscow
|
1 (2010) | 1 (0) | |
| Singapore
|
1 (2010) | 1 (1) | |
| Dakar
|
1 (2026) | 1 (1) | |
| Gangwon
|
1 (2024) | 1 (1) | |
| Lausanne
|
1 (2020) | 1 (1) | |
| Bangkok
|
1 (2010) | 1 (0) | |
| Tunis
|
1 (2026) | 1 (0) |
|
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|---|---|
| Summer |
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| Winter |
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| Summer Youth |
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| Winter Youth |
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1 – Games handed without bids submitted; 2 – Only one bid submitted; 3 – Bids submitted but no Games celebration; 4 – No bids submitted and no Games celebration  Olympic Games portal
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