Glasgow is bidding to bring the Youth Olympic Games to the city in 2018.

The Youth Olympics is an event on the same scale as the Commonwealth Games which the city will host four years earlier.

Glasgow has now started communications with the British Olympic Association, officially registering its interest to become only the third city to stage the multi-sport event.

It will ask the association to consider the proposal at its board meeting this month.

Council leaders are also believed to have asked the association to make representations to the International Olympic Committee.

A letter from Glasgow City Council to Andy Hunt, chief executive of the British Olympic Association, states: "We recognise the BOA will be required to carry out a thorough review process and should your meeting agree in September to express an interest, this will give the opportunity for both Glasgow and other potential interested UK cities to develop their proposals further."

The first Youth Olympic Games were held last year in Singapore.

The event, which involves about 200 countries, is staged every four years and involves athletes aged 14-18. There is a maximum of 3530 participants and 480 officials, about 75% of the number involved in the Commonwealth Games.

The Youth Olympics were started in response to growing global concerns about childhood obesity and the diminishing participation of young people and schools in sport activities, and is billed as being as much about cultural education and exchange as it is about sport.

Innsbruck will host the first Winter Youth Olympics in 2012. Nanjing, China, will be the host city of the 2014 Youth Olympics.

A lot of the criteria may sit well with Glasgow's bid, especially coming four years after the investment into the 2014 Games.

The intention of the organisers is to allow for smaller cities to host a Youth Olympic Games. All events have to be within the same city and no new sports venues should be built.

A Games village has to be the heart of the event for the athletes. No new or unique transportation systems are required and the track and field stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies must hold 10,000 people.

The original estimated costs for running the Games were £19m for the Summer and £9.3m to £12.5m for Winter Games, these costs do not include infrastructure improvements for venue construction.

But the budgets for the final two bids for the inaugural Summer Games came in at £56m. The cost of the first games in Singapore escalated to £177m.

Rugby bosses want city world sevens

One of the world's top sporting events could move to Glasgow in the run up to the Commonwealth Games.

The Scottish Rugby Union has approached the city council and suggested the Sevens World Series switches from Murrayfield in Edinburgh to Scotstoun for the 2012 season.

The hugely popular sporting event is also likely to be held in the city in the following two years in the run up to the 2014 Games.

It is estimated the sevens could result in a £3million a year boost to the city's economy.

Scotstoun, which was recently redeveloped at a cost of almost £18million, has seating for 5000 people but temporary seating will accommodate 15,000 fans.

On Friday, senior councillors will be asked to back the plan which would see the city join Adelaide, Dubai, South Africa, New Zealand, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Tokyo and London in hosting the event.

Archie Graham, the city council's Commonwealth Games spokesman, said: "Rugby sevens is a Commonwealth sport and it is vital that we build excitement ahead of Glasgow 2014.

"We want as many people as possible to watch sevens in the run up to and including the Games.

"World-class events such as the HSBC Sevens World Series would enable us to do that."

The competition would be held during the first weekend of May and broadcast live on Sky Sports.

Councillors will also be asked to let Glasgow Warriors, one of Scotland's two professional rugby teams, to make Scotstoun a permanent match venue.

The team now uses the sports centre as its administration and training headquarters but plays matches at Firhill Stadium.