As we are now in the final hours before the Opening Ceremony of the first-ever Youth Olympic Games, it’s natural to think not only about this event, but how it might impact the future....

To that moment in London 2012 or Rio 2016, when an Olympic champion talks about how his or her experiences here in Singapore helped transform their Olympic journey.

To that moment when a young athlete who has earned the honour of representing Team GB in the Olympic Games talks about how they were first inspired to take up sport by what they saw in the Youth Olympics.

And to that moment decades from now when two sportsmen who first met here in Singapore - young athletes from countries that currently do not enjoy warm relations - are reunited in the timeless Olympic spirit of friendship and respect.

As the curtain is about to be drawn on the first-ever Youth Olympic Games, these are the moments that ultimately will endure.

One magic moment that is set in stone in the hearts and minds of everyone connected with British Olympic sport is the moment, here on this very island, on July 6, 2005, when IOC President Jacques Rogge uttered the words we were all hoping to hear, "The Games of the XXX Olympiad, are awarded to, the city of,........long, suspense ridden pause,.....LONDON!"

Cue ecstatic celebrations amid scenes of euphoria in Trafalgar Square, in pubs and offices across the UK and among the leaders of the bid team here in Singapore who punched the air with delight.

Fast forward five years, and today we see LOCOG, the ODA and other Olympic stakeholders delivering on the promises made here in Singapore.

While a patch of East London is being transformed before our eyes in preparation for 2012, Team GB’s athletes united the nation with a break-through performance at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, setting numerous records and bringing home our greatest bounty of gold, silver and bronze for a century.

47 medals to be precise. Truly magnificent.

So Team GB’s next generation of potential Olympians, 39 of whom are here in the heat and humidity of South East Asia testing themselves against the world’s best of their age group across 16 Olympic sports, have no shortage of role models and inspirational figures to look up to.

In fact, they need look no further than Team GB’s most recent Olympic Champion, skeleton slider Amy Williams who claimed gold in such fine style in Canada six months ago.

I’m delighted that Amy has travelled with us to Singapore to give Britain’s young athletes advice, confidence and highly valued words of encouragement.

Team GB is packed with exciting talent and great potential.

Among the athletes competing for Britain here are diving world champion Tom Daley, triple junior European champion gymnast Sam Oldham, the fastest under-18 100 metres runner in the world this year - David Bolawinra, Wimbledon junior semi-finalist Oliver Golding (pictured), junior world taekwondo silver medallist Jade Jones and Victoria Ohuruogu, who is looking to follow in the footsteps of sister and reigning Olympic champion Christine in the 400m.

The Youth Olympic Games feel new and different. They’ve got that familiar Olympic buzz, but everything is young, fresh and dynamic, like a brand new BMX ready to be raced out of the starting blocks. The International Olympic Committee is to be congratulated for their commitment to engaging the youth of the world through sport and friendship.

Lest we forget, a key piece of the successful London 2012 bid puzzle was our pledge to excite and inspire the youth of the world and create a lasting sports legacy both in the UK, and around the globe.

With that at the forefront of my mind, it is a huge privilege for Team GB athletes and officials to be present in Singapore once more, for the momentous first chapter of a truly innovative and youth-focussed festival of world-class sport.

Five years on from that historic day in 2005, we have the opportunity to be part of another piece of Olympic history, by marching proudly into the Opening Ceremony of the first-ever Youth Olympic Games.

Andy Hunt is the chief executive of the British Olympic Association