Youth Olympic Games Venue: Singapore Dates: 14-26 August Coverage: Daily video highlights on the BBC Red Button and the BBC Sport website (UK only); Review programme on Saturday 21 August at 1350 BST on BBC1
Jacques Rogge and his team on the International Olympic Committee will have been looking forward to London 2012 like proud parents.
Not least when Lord Coe (and Co) opened the doors on the Olympic site in Willy Wonka-esque style at the Games' two-year countdown last month.
But with London's due date not for another two years, it's Singapore that has busily set about announcing itself on the Olympic stage in hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, which get under way on Saturday.
A brainchild of the IOC's president, the idea of staging an Olympics for young people aged 14 -18 took some time to get off the ground.
However, here we are covering the very first Youth Olympics, three years since its eventual inception (and two years since Singapore was awarded the mantle of 'Host City').
It is a beautiful place to be, a spectacular scene for sport, and there can be no debating the YOG's arrival and credibility in this part of the world at least - just ask the 3,600 athletes taking part. Even the buses are peppered with the exuberance this small island with a big population has shown in making Olympic history.
Though the next two weeks may not have the same kind of impact London expects to have in 2012, Singapore 2010 and the performances of a young Team GB could play a huge role when it comes to the capital's much-talked about legacy.
Refreshingly, not all the onus is on 2012 to find the next generation of UK sporting talent, because in a 39-strong Team GB, some of the country's most accomplished young sportspeople are already competing at the highest level, with their sights firmly set on centre stage in two years' time.
Victoria Ohuruogu keen to match sister's success
One of those 39 embarking on a glittering career has already transformed potential into potency. It's hard to believe that diver Tom Daley is still only 16, but Britain's youngest Olympian for 60 years arrives in Singapore as 10m platform world champion.
With that title comes pressure to win gold medals, but also a huge responsibility as he joins up with a team that can't wait to meet such a big star when he arrives from competition at the
European Championships in Hungary
- a genuine inspiration.
He's not the only Team GB member with a Beijing connection - 400m runner Victoria Ohuruogu has probably picked up some advice from her sister, Christine, who left China with gold after a victorious run in the final of the same event two years ago.
Other names to look out for include Wimbledon junior semi-finalist Ollie Golding, gymnast Sam Oldham - winner of the Junior European all-round title earlier this year and Jade Jones from North Wales, who was second at the World Junior Taekwondo Championships.
The road to 2012 may have taken a slight Singapore diversion for the next two weeks at least, but for the British athletes here, they've certainly started along the right path.
Bookmark with:
What are these?