Excitement is building in Austria with less than 15 days until the Opening Ceremony of the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games on 13 January.

The Torch Relay for Innsbruck 2012 passed through the host city on Thursday, for the first time since the flame was lit in Athens on December 17.

2,012 torchbearers will carry the flame on its 18 day journey through Austria, including its stop in Vienna for New Years' Eve this weekend.

The Torch Relay has already passed through Neustift, Stubaital and Sölden in the city, and was carried by numerous Austrian Olympic Games medal winners.

Mayor Christine Oppitz-Plörer lit the Youth Olympic Torch in the cauldron in front of the Annasäule monument in Innsbruck. The Innsbruck 2012 Chief Executive, Peter Bayer, was the first torchbearer of the day before he passed it onto Stephan Eberhater, the 2002 Olympic giant slalom champion.

"As a successful Olympic athlete, being part of the Youth Olympic Torch Relay as a torchbearer was a great experience for me," said Eberhater.

The torch relay continues its way around Austria until eventually arriving at Bergisel Stadium in Innsbruck for the Opening Ceremony on January 13.

It is the first time that the Olympic Torch has gone to the same Host City on three separate occasions, with Innsbruck staging the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976.

Australia will be represented by 13 athletes in 10 disciplines across the 10 days of competition though until 22 January.

The Australian flagbearer will be announced by Chef de Mission Alisa Camplin at the Team Welcome ceremony on 10 January at a school at Hall in Tirol.

AOC