Athens: The first ever Youth Olympics will be held in Singapore in 2010 after the city-state won 53 out of 97 postal votes, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge announced on Thursday.

This inaugural event is aimed at generating enthusiasm for the Olympic movement and the Games among the world's teenagers, among whom interest had declined in recent years, raising the average age of Games' television viewers.

Singapore was competing with Moscow, the only other contender for the event from an initial pool of 11 bidders.

Rogge, who is the creative force behind the event, read out the winner's name at a ceremony held inside the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Singapore will host the Games that will have about 3,200 athletes, aged 14-18, competing in 26 sports and will cost about $30 million.

The events 800 or so judges, referees and delegation officials for the summer editions will also be young people.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged the honour at an outdoor rally, saying that they are the center of a “new era of sports development''