The IOC announced that it was inviting bids for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in June of this year and while Lausanne had declared its intention to bid early on, Brasov's interest has come unexpectedly.

Bulgarian capital Sofia and Lake Placid in New York had been mooted as potential bidders but their interest has not led to any concrete bid.

Neither Brașov nor Lausanne have ever hosted a major Olympic event before, although the Swiss city, known as the "Olympic capital", is no stranger to the Movement as it is where the IOC headquarters are based, along with 60 international sporting federations.

Lausanne officials had intimated that they were considering a bid for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics as far back as 2010 and that interest was further cemented after the city successfully hosted the World Gymnaestrada in 2011.

Earlier this year, Brașov - located in the east of Romania - hosted the 11th edition of the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival.

"We are delighted that Brașov and Lausanne are in the running for 2020 and want to bring the spirit of the Youth Olympic Games to their cities," IOC President Thomas Bach said.

"Both candidates have signalled their strong interest in hosting the YOG, and we look forward to receiving each bid's vision on how these Games can best reach young people and benefit their communities in a sustainable way.

"It promises to be a close race all the way to the election in 2015."

Both cities will now go through a series of stages in the bidding process with the first being the signature of the 2020 Youth Olympics Candidature Procedure on December 12, before each city submits its Candidature File and other related documents on June 17 next year.

Austrian city Innsbruck hosted the first ever Winter Youth Olympic Games last year ©IOC


















Following a review of the Candidature Files, the IOC Executive Board will confirm the shortlist in early December 2014.

An Evaluation Commission will then visit each bid city before releasing its report in April and May 2015.

The IOC will then announce the host city for the Games in July or August 2015.

The 2020 Games will be the third edition of the Winter Youth Olympics and will see around 1,000 athletes competing across a maximum of ten days of competition.

Last year, the Austrian city of Innsbruck - which staged the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics - hosted the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games while 1994 Winter Games host Lillehammer in Norway is due to stage the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

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