An Olympic Day with a taste of Buenos Aires 2018
From 6-18 October, the Youth Olympic Village will be home to the 4000 athletes at Buenos Aires 2018, representing 206 countries and 32 sports. But with less than 100 days until the opening ceremony, the grounds in Villa Soldati had a taste of things to come with the traditional Olympic Day celebration.
Despite a nerve-racking World Cup match where Argentina lost 4-3 to France, stands for 27 sports, live music and recreational activities created a spectacular afternoon in the Youth Olympic Village that was also lucky to have #Pandi and a public comprised of all different ages.
“We had a great afternoon. It’s a special year for us because the Games are getting closer. We wanted to have an Olympic Day in the Village to share it with neighbours. We are trying to spread the Olympic values and for people to get to know the place and have a chance to try all the sports”, said Gerardo Werthein, president of the Buenos Aires 2018 Organising Committee.
Various federations with sports on the Olympic programme were present: athletics, breaking, badminton, beach handball, beach volleyball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, fencing, equestrian, futsal, rhythmic gymnastics, golf, karate, wrestling, roller speed skating, modern pentathlon, weightlifting, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, archery, shooting and triathlon.
Polo, a showcase sport at Buenos Aires 2018 together with squash, was also present, in addition to skateboard and long board. The stands were distributed throughout the grounds and handed out information about their respective sports, teaching the basic rules and giving demonstrations with the aim of attracting new participants.
Among the young athletes present at the celebration, Argentina’s men’s and women beach handball were on hand, in addition to representatives for the country’s youth boxing team (Victoria Saputo, Brian Arregui and Mirco Cuello). Agustina Roth, a BMX freestyle representative for Argentina, also took part in the activities.
During the four hours at the Village, Lisandro Etala, Lapeband, Weste and Los Bonnito played music to accompany the festivities. The Olympic Day was a warm-up for Buenos Aires 2018. People also had the chance to get to know the area that will be the heart of the Games in October.
