Youth Olympics in Singapore

A crowd of 27,000 packed the stadium overlooking Marina Bay to cheer the athletes during the opening ceremony [AFP]

The government is spending nearly $290m on the event [AFP]

The games feature around 3,600 athletes from 204 countries aged between 14 to 18 [AFP]

Singapore won the bid to host the games in a tight race with Moscow two years ago [EPA]

Lyo and Merly are the official mascots for the event [EPA]