ATHENS, Sept 3: Eleven cities have submitted bids to host the first edition of the Youth Olympics in 2010, designed to shore up dwindling support for the Olympic movement, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Monday.

With the average age of television viewers of the Olympics increasing and youngsters turning away, the IOC has said it needs to change to secure its survival.

For athletes aged 14-18, the first summer Games will take place in 2010 and the inaugural winter edition two years later.

The candidate cities for 2010 are Algiers, Athens, Bangkok, Belgrade, Debrecen, Guatemala City, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Poznan, Singapore and Turin, the IOC said in a statement.

The first host city will be decided next February.—Reuters