The Sochi 2014 mascots have celebrated their first birthday with the launch of new stamp sheets featuring their images. A total of 440,000 stamp sheets have been released, half of which are illustrated with the Olympic mascots, with the rest featuring the mascots for the 2014 Paralympic Games. Schoolchildren in Sochi were the first lucky owners of the unique stamp sheets, with the mascots attending the launch ceremony to watch a short film on the Sochi 2014 Legacy and take part in an Olympic quiz. The launch of the mascot stamp sheets and a decoratively bound Collector's Edition marked the beginning of the Sochi 2014 philatelic programme's second year. In all, more than 10 million stamps were released in 2011, demonstrating the widespread interest in the Sochi 2014 stamps. Beginning on 19 May, an average of 115 Torchbearers each day will carry the Olympic flame during its 12,800km journey around the UK before it arrives at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony. Seb Coe, Chairman of LOCOG, said: "Today we bring the Olympic torch relay to life, with thousands of inspirational people from all over the UK being confirmed as Torchbearers."We hope local communities come out and line the streets to cheer on the torchbearers, and celebrate the Olympic Games coming to the UK."Of a total of 8,000 torchbearers in the relay, Dinah Gould, at 100 years of age, The organisers of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games have got off to a strong start as they embark on preparations to deliver the Republic of Korea's first Olympic Winter Games, according to the IOC Coordination Commission for PyeongChang 2018.The IOC Coordination Commission, chaired by IOC Executive Board member Gunilla SOCHI MASCOTS CELEBRATE FIRST BIRTHDAY PYEONGCHANG 2018 MAKES QUICK START FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL BIDLONDON 2012 REVEALS TORCHBEARERSBelow Dinah Gould (second from left) will be the oldest torchbearerBelow A Sochi 2014 mascot with local schoolchildrenwill be the oldest torchbearer in the relay whilst Dominic MacGowan, at just 11 years old, will be the youngest.Lindberg, made its first inspection visit to the winter resort town in March and praised the work already undertaken by the local organisers."We were pleased by the high quality of presentations that were delivered by the very capable team at PyeongChang 2018, under the leadership of President Jin Sun Kim," said Lindberg. "They have a good grasp of what is expected of them and what they need to accomplish. They have taken full advantage of the bid process to learn from the IOC and previous Olympic hosts and this is clearly reflected in their current work."The organisers confirmed that they would continue to build upon their impressive bid vision for the Games, which has a strong focus on sport, legacy and sustainability. In addition, the structure of the PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (POCOG) is quickly taking shape, with many key roles already filled.OLYMPIC REVIEW 17

During the three-day visit, the IOC team presented to the Organising Committee on all aspects of the Youth Olympic Games, including YOG Experience, Games-time Management and Marketing, while LYOGOC gave an update on organisational structure and activities over the past few months. The meeting also served as an opportunity for the IOC to present the outcomes of An IOC team travelled to Lillehammer in April for the first executive meeting with the Organising Committee on Norwegian soil since the city was announced as the host of the 2nd Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2016.Headed by the Chair of the Lillehammer 2016 Coordination Commission, IOC Athletes' Commission member Angela Ruggiero, the visit's main focus was to begin laying the foundations for a successful and fruitful relationship. Over the next four years, the IOC will offer support, guidance and advice to the Organising Committee (LYOGOC) as it prepares to welcome the Olympic family once again, 22 years on from the memorable Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games. The six Candidate Cities for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) attended the first IOC workshop on the bidding process in Lausanne in April. Put forward by their respective NOCs, the potential host cities for the third Summer YOG are (in alphabetical order): Buenos Aires (Argentina), Glasgow (Great Britain), Guadalajara (Mexico), Medellín (Colombia), Poznán (Poland) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands).During the two-day workshop, presentations were delivered on all aspects of the YOG, including At the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), environmental protection is a key area explored, discussed and celebrated as part of the Culture and Education Programme (CEP). Keen to embrace this theme, the Nanjing 2014 Organising Committee officially opened the YOG Forest Park in March with the help of more than 1,000 volunteers who planted trees. During the Games, the young athletes will also get the opportunity to leave behind a lasting memento of their time in the city by planting a tree. The park covers about 6,700 square metres and includes five ecological areas, which are designed in the style of Asia, Europe, Africa, America and Oceania. The space will provide an idyllic green sanctuary for Nanjing locals and visitors before, during and after the Games. LILLEHAMMER 2016 WELCOMES IOC TEAMIOC WELCOMES ALL SIX YOG 2018 CANDIDATE CITIESNANJING 2014 YOG FOREST PARK OPENEDthe first editions of the Youth Olympic Games; Singapore 2010 and Innsbruck 2012. As part of the meeting, the four-person IOC team also visited a number of sites, including the future location of the Youth Olympic Village, the ski jumping hill and the cross-country arena. Below The IOC team visited a number of Games sitesBelow Representatives of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games Candidate CitiesAbove The YOG Forest Park openssports and venues, the Culture and Education Programme and the Youth Olympic Village, while each bid city had the opportunity for a private audience with the IOC team.IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli said: "We have had positive feedback from those who participated in the meeting, which proved to be very successful indeed."18 OLYMPIC REVIEW