The best young athletes from Australia and around the world, including Britain, will converge on Sydney to compete at the Olympic venues over five days of competition from January 14-18.

 

The Festival has proved its importance as a key stepping stone for young athletes towards competing at the Olympic Games.

 

At the last Youth Festival in 2007 Britain's 100-strong team returned home with13 gold medals from a competition that attracted 1,600 entries from 23 countries.

 

Among those who won gold was Louis Smith, who in Beijing earlier this year became the first British gymnast to win an Olympic medal for a century when he finished third on the pommel horse.

 

But the biggest story among the British team at the AYOF was that, at the age of 12, Tom Daley was given a special dispensation to compete in his first major international event.

 

The usual minimum age is 15.

 

Competing with a persistent thumb injury, Daley won the silver medal with synchro-partner Callum Johnstone in the 10-metre synchronised-diving final.

 

Daley, of course, went on to compete Beijing, when at the age of just 14 he was one of the youngest ever to represent Britain in the Games.

 

Launching the 2009 Festival today, Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) president John Coates said: “The AOC is extremely proud of what has been achieved since 2001 when we staged the Festival for the first time.

 

"The results have been outstanding.”

 

After a successful Beijing Olympics and a looming London Games, both China and Britain are sending large teams.

 

China is sending the biggest international team – 273 athletes and officials.

 

Britain will have 190, New Zealand 229 and Japan 117.

 

Australia will field a team of 660 athletes and officials.

 

Many of these athletes will go on to wear the green and gold in London, some at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010.

 

In total, 1,550 athletes from 27 countries will compete across 17 sports.

 

Athletics, gymnastics, swimming, diving, hockey, archery and fencing will all be contested at Sydney Olympic Park.

 

The number of team sports on the programme has increased from two to four, including basketball, hockey, football and water polo.

 

In the individual sports, triathlon makes a return to the competition program.

 

The sport was last contested at the 2001 AYOF, when the current Olympic gold medallist Emma Snowsill won the gold medal.

 

While athletes from Chile, Norway and Kazakhstan will compete at the Festival for the first time. Chile is sending a male football team, Norway a beach volleyball team and Kazakhstan athletes to compete in canoe/kayak slalom.

 

The AOC has committed A$4.6 million (£1.9 million) towards hosting the Festival, up from A$3.3 million (£1.4 million) in 2007.

 

Like the Olympic Games, there is an opening ceremony, which features an athlete’s parade, raising of the Olympic flag and lighting of the festival flame.

 

The opening ceremony takes place on the evening of Wednesday January 14 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre and showcases the best of the 2008 Schools Spectacular performances presented by New Sout Wales public schools.