The first-ever Winter Youth Olympic Games opened Friday in Innsbruck, Austria, bringing together a thousand 14- to 18-year-old athletes from over 60 nations to the winter sports capital.
The competition, which runs through January 22, follows the inaugural Summer Youth Games in Singapore in 2010, and medals are up for grabs in seven sports: biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, figure skating and alpine skiing.
This is the third time the Olympics have come to the center of the Tyrol region. Innsbruck was host city for the Winter Games in 1964 and 1976.
The concept of a Youth Olympics, the successor to the discontinued World Youth Games, was first announced by International Olympic Committee head Jacques Rogge in 2007.
IOC chief Jacques Rogge officially declared the games open after a fireworks and music extravaganza at the competition's ski jump facility. He also called on the young competitors to "strive for excellence, but compete in the spirit of friendship."
