Omega, the Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games, recently celebrated the two-year countdown to the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020, together with the event’s organising committee.

When the Opening Ceremony takes place on January 10, 2020, Lausanne 2020 will mark the third edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games. Around 1,880 young athletes from over 70 nations will compete in 81 events around the Swiss city of Lausanne, on the shores of Lake Geneva, St. Moritz, and in the nearby Vaud Alps and French Jura mountains.

Lausanne 2020 will be particularly notable for having the same number of male and female athletes competing, as well as being the first time that ski mountaineering appears on the Olympic Games programme.

To start the clock for the two-year countdown, Raynald Aeschlimann, President and CEO of Omega, was joined by Danka Bartekova, Chair of the Olympic Coordination Commission for Lausanne 2020; Alain Zobrist, CEO of Omega Timing; Patrick Baumann, President of Lausanne 2020; and Ian Logan, CEO of Lausanne 2020.

During the official unveiling, Aeschlimann said: “Omega is truly looking forward to Lausanne 2020. To be in this special location to serve the best young athletes in the world will be a great privilege. Of course, Switzerland is Omega’s home, so we’ll have an extra feeling of pride when we welcome the world here.”

Bartekova said: “We are privileged to share this moment together with our friends from Omega, a long-standing partner of the Olympic Games. Omega will not only provide the timekeeping for all sports at Lausanne 2020, but also the count-down clock we are unveiling today. Thanks to Omega’s cutting-edge technology, the times and results will be transmitted to spectators and fans across the globe. So, let me thank everyone at Omega for their great support for Lausanne 2020.”