Royal Olympic bids

As the Sochi Winter Olympics get under way in Russia, one royal is already looking ahead to future games.  On the first full day of competition in Sochi, Crown Prince Haakon Magnus was spotted out and about in a snowy Oslo filming material for the 2016 Lillehammer Youth Winter Olympics.

Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway filming promotional material for the 2016 Lillehammer Youth Winter Olympics on the day the 2014 Sochi Games got under way

The Youth Games are for athletes aged between 15 and 18 and the winter event features seven sports.  But the contest is different in that educational events, seminars and workshops take place along side it looking at Olympic values and helping athletes learn about other countries and cultures. Over 1,000 young people are expected to take part in the Lillehammer Games.  This will be the second ever winter event - the first was in Innsbruck in 2012 with a summer Games in Singapore in 2010.  The next summer event is in Beijing this summer.

Crown Prince Haakon Magnus with his family at the London 2012 Olympics

Crown Prince Haakon Magnus is expected to be involved in the bid to bring the 2022 Winter Olympics to Oslo.  But in the meantime, the prince is off to Sochi today to watch four days of Norwegian attempts to win gold at the games.  He won't have long to wait for a medal.