The Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (BAYOGOC) held a ceremony to unveil the Youth Olympic Village’s cornerstone on 6 May. The event marked the start of the construction of the Youth Olympic Village, which will be home for more than 3,800 athletes in October 2018, when the 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will be held in Buenos Aires.
To demonstrate Buenos Aires 2018’s efforts to stage sustainable YOG, the cornerstone was printed using a 3D printer and material from recycled plastic bottles. This supported the Buenos Aires 2018 environmental campaign for people in the city to bring their plastic bottles to “Green Points” located around Buenos Aires.
“Through this initiative, we are honouring our working principles of innovation and sustainability. We involved the community in every step of the process, making them a key part of the project and promoting respect for the environment,” said Leandro Larrosa, CEO of BAYOGOC.
More than 700 people attended the official inauguration. Among them were authorities from both the National and the City’s Governments, the Argentine Olympic Committee, the Organising Committee, Olympic athletes, kids, construction workers and many other guests.
The event began in the morning with sports initiation activities. More than 300 young people from local schools played rugby, hockey and athletics. This was followed by a speech from Argentine Olympic Committee President and IOC Member Gerardo Werthein. The Mayor of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, emphasised the fact that the YOG are “one of the most inspiring projects we have nowadays in our city and our country. It combines all the values we want our city to work, grow and develop with”.
Mauricio Macri, Argentina’s President, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and Gerardo Werthein unveiled the cornerstone to a loud cheer from the crowd. All in all, the day had a little of everything with which Buenos Aires 2018 will be identified: sports, youth, innovation and culture - an inspiring stepping stone on the road to 2018.