I've been in Singapore since the weekend to enjoy the early competition in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games and to support Deloitte Singapore's tier one sponsorship of the event - we were the first sponsor to come on board here and have been involved from the early stages of the OCOG being established.

A number of things have particularly struck me about the atmosphere and the organisational approach to make the "youth" element of these Games a real differentiator.

The first and most significant point is the genuine pride of the Singaporean people in hosting the event. The chance to use the Games as an opportunity to change attitudes to sports participation, especially in children in Singapore, has been a high priority.  Getting more young people in the host country to take part in a greater range of sports is central to the Organising Committee’s vision for these Games and it is the first thing members of the Committee mention when you ask them of what they are most proud.

One example of this is that fencing has now been adopted as a recognised school sport so participation "earns extra-curricular credits for young people in the Singaporean education system.  It's a long haul though - for business sponsors of the Games, especially domestically, this has not been a big client-facing event, and audiences are relatively clear of evident corporate hospitality. Partly that's because the Games don't have the elite pull of the "full" Olympics, but also because sport isn't a CEO topic of conversation the way it is in many western nations.

The second observation is the extent to which the "Youth" angle has been embraced here. Many Games volunteers are school or college age and can be seen manning entry points and accreditation desks. Whilst there have been a few challenges, overall this has worked extremely well.  A similar approach was adopted in Beijing with young people volunteering but whilst they were equally welcoming, they were not quite as adept at coping with challenges as they arose.

I was made very aware of the interest young people have in volunteering at the Olympic Games last weekend as teenagers in my home village lobbied me about the minimum age for volunteering in London. Sadly for them, I am not a big influencer! 

Whilst the different requirements of each Games means that London has set a higher age for volunteers, it is evident that young people are excited about the eyes of the world turning on their capital city. Importing the youthful enthusiasm of Singapore to London will be vital.

There is one other challenge from what has been a fairly successful trial run for the IOC.

With China - Nanjing - hosting the next summer YOG in 2014, how will the IOC keep the event's scale, charm and affordability in check so that the next bid cities feel that it's still a realistic aspiration to host a Youth Games if the full-blown Olympics is beyond their budget?

One to watch as Singapore closes and Nanjing starts planning....  

Heather Hancock is Lead Partner for London 2012 and Managing Partner for Innovation & Brand at Deloitte