MOSCOW, December 20 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow's mayor said the capital would be an exceptional host for the first Youth Olympic Games, and should be able to fight off rival bids.
Moscow is one of five official candidate cities to host the first Youth Olympics in 2010.
"Moscow and Russia guarantee that we will make a glittering success of these games," Yury Luzhkov said on Thursday evening during an ice show on Red Square in support of Moscow's bid.
"We want the games to be held here in this city, which is doing its utmost for the development of youth and children's sport," he said.
Voting on the candidate cities will be held in late January 2008. Other bidders are Athens, Bangkok, Singapore City and Torino (Italy).
The Youth Olympic Games are to be modeled on the Olympics, and are expected to involve around 3,200 athletes aged 14 to 18.
In July, at an Olympic committee ceremony in Guatemala, Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi was awarded the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
