The Grand Council of Vaud, the state government for the canton of Vaud, of which Lausanne is capital, voted enthusiastically in favour of contributing CHF8 million (£5.28 million/$8.89 million/€6.57 million) to the proposed operational budget of the Games, estimated at around CHF36 million (£23.75/$39.98 million/€29.55 million).

The Council also offered financial guarantees in case of any shortfall.

During the vote on Tuesday (June 10), 101 members voted in favour of the proposals, one against, and 15 abstained, all Green Party members.

The vote follows a similar trend set by the Municipal Council of Lausanne in March, which saw an identical result to that of Tuesday's vote.

The federal Government has also said it will contribute to the estimated operational costs of the Games, if the Lausanne bid is successful.

This vote of confidence comes after a series of "no" votes from Olympic bidding cities across Europe.

Just last month, on May 26, the Polish city of Kraków withdrew its bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics after 69.72 per cent of the public voted against the bid in a city-wide referendum.

This withdrawal followed that of Stockholm's in Sweden in January, after the Government refused to give financial backing to the city's bid.

Munich and Davos-St. Moritz also dropped plans to bid for 2022 after voters in Germany and Switzerland voted "no" in referendums.

Innsbruck in Austria held the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012, with the 2016 edition set for Lillehammer in Norway ©Getty Images



Lausanne will face competition from the Romanian city of Brașov to host the 2020 Winter Youth Games after the pair submitted bids in November of last year.

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 International Olympic Committee headquarters are based, along with 60 international sporting federations.

The two cities will now submit their Candidature Files and other related documents to the IOC next Tuesday (June 17).

Following visits to each city by the IOC Evaluation Commission, a final decision will be made in July or August 2015.

In 2012, 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 Olympics.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
November 2013: Brașov and Lausanne confirmed as bidders for 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games
September 2013: Lausanne announced as official Swiss Candidate for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics
August 2013: Lausanne officially put forward as potential 2020 Winter Youth Olympic candidate
July 2013: Swiss President Maurer "very excited" about Youth Olympic bid as Lausanne launches official application
June 2013: IOC opens bid process for 2020 Winter Youth Olympics and 2022 Winter Games