Around 900 athletes spanning 45 nations will compete in Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein until January 30, at the first-ever Olympic event to be co-hosted by two nations.

The 14 to 18-year-old competitors will compete across eight disciplines - biathlon, ice hockey, figure skating, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, Alpine skiing, ski jumping and snowboard - held in nine different venues.

The municipality of Bürserberg will host biathlon, while Malbun and Sankt Gallenkirch welcomes the Alpine skiers.

Cross-country will take place in Steg, with figure skating staged in the Messestadion Dornbirn, and ice hockey and ski jumping both held in Tschagguns at the Aktivpark Montafon and Montafon Nordic respectively.

The cross-country element of the Nordic combined will take place at the Montafon Nordic, with the ski jumping in Gaschurn and snowboarding at the Hochjoch in Schruns. 

Organisers have said that the Opening Ceremony, which will feature the premiere of a song "Rock the Alps", will focus on "the Pleasure of Sports".

Two young artists: Carmen Wyler and Thomas Pegram, from Liechtenstein and Austria respectively, have been chosen to sing the national anthems of the host countries, while the official inauguration will be made by Austria's Federal President Heinz Fischer and Prince Alois of Liechtenstein.

Christoph Sieber won a gold medal in sailing at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and is hoping to set more athletes on the road to success as Austria's Chef de Mission ©ÖOC/GEPA



Writing in the event's official guide, European Olympic Committees President, Patrick Hickey, wished all the participants the very best of luck.

"As these youngsters do battle for a place on the podium they will get their first experience of the Olympic spirit and try to excel themselves in the arena," said the Irishman, also a member of the International Olympic Committee's ruling Executive Board.

"The Organising Committee has worked very hard to create the best conditions for competition and to realise this vision, so let us watch together and see the Olympic magic at work."

Austria's Chef de Mission, Christoph Sieber, insists the EYOF is a lot more than just about winning medals, stating that it's important to expose young athletes to the all-round 'Olympic experience'.

"We certainly have medal hopefuls in various sports but I will never name any of them at this sort of event because the goal is different," said the Sydney 2000 gold medal-winning sailor.

"It's not just about the medals - the athletes are highly motivated otherwise they wouldn't be here and they wouldn't have been selected for the team - but it's absolutely key for us also to provide them with much more than just a possibility for a medal or for a result.

"It's about the whole experience - to breathe Olympic air and everything that's involved with that - be it standing around for a couple of hours for the Opening Ceremony on the day before your competition, or be it winning a medal and being directed by others as to what you have to do that night - instead of partying with your friends, going to some official functions.

"How the whole procedure also works when we, the NOC [National Olympic Committee], are running the show and how we communicate with them and how they communicate with their team leaders and coaches and so on.

"The whole package is a great package of experience for them and for those of them who go on to the traditional Games, and they won't be as surprised as they would be without this experience."

Katharina Liensberger is one of eight Alpine skiers competing for Austria ©ÖOC/GEPA



Katharina Liensberger, one of eight Austrian Alpine skiers competing at the EYOF, is keen to follow in the footsteps of one of her role models, the United States' Olympic gold medal winner Mikaela Shiffrin, and she sees the event as a key stepping stone.

"It's a great event to participate in and I think it's the biggest event I've ever competed in before," said the 17-year-old.

In total, 1,632 athletes and officials will participate, with 1,200 volunteers contributing towards making it a great sporting spectacle.

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