As a Singaporean in his early 30s, there are not many instances I can recall which galvanised the nation in a celebratory way.

I remember the Hotel New World collapse 22 years ago, when the entire nation came together to grieve and to support one another. I remember a coffee shop not too far from the scene offering free chicken rice to rescue workers.

I remember the SARS avian flu outbreak in 2003 when we were asked to play our part by taking our temperatures at home and quarantine ourselves if we had to.

These were not happy events that brought the country together. Of course, there are the annual National Day celebrations which bond us.

But Thursday night was special because I witnessed an event that had rallied all Singaporeans together to work towards a victory.

That night, when we celebrated, I gave just that little bit more when I belted out one of our national songs, 'Stand Up For Singapore''.

As a country, we have secured and staged many international events. The International Olympic Council meeting and its announcement of the winning city for the 2012 Olympic games, the World Trade Organisation meetings and the recent World Bank and International Monetary Fund Board of Governors meetings.

We secured the rights to hold the world's first Formula One race at night. But Thursday night's victory over Moscow for the right to host the first Youth Olympics is different because the whole nation was a part of the bidding process.

Everyone chipped in: young and old; students and cab drivers, children and politicians. This was one challenge that had us at the edge of our seats because after all the hard work, we did not know how it would pan out. We waited, and we celebrated when we heard the words 'Singapore'.

We made history not only because we will be the first host city of the Youth Olympic Games. We made history because we worked, waited and celebrated as one people and one nation.

In August 2010, Singapore will welcome the cradle of the globe's best athletes and we will have our chance to show the world this beautiful city we call home.

Martin Tan