Kuwait City, Kuwait, April 8, 2021: The Olympic Council of Asia conducted the fourth OCA Coordination Committee meeting for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 on Thursday, April 8.
The meeting was held virtually from various locations, including the OCA headquarters in Kuwait City, the HQ of organising committee HAGOC in Hangzhou, eastern China, and from the offices of the Chinese Olympic Committee and General Administration of Sport of China in Beijing.
The meeting coincided with the 520-day countdown to the 19th Asian Games, which will take place from September 10-25, 2022 with 40 sports, 61 disciplines and 482 events.
Eleven aspects of planning and preparation were presented during the three-hour meeting including venue construction, the sports competition schedule, the Asian Games Village, medical and anti-doping and marketing.
The Chairman of the OCA Coordination Committee, OCA Life Vice President Raja Randhir Singh, thanked HAGOC for making the presentations in English to assist with the smooth flow of the meeting.
He also congratulated the organising committee for continuing their preparations in a business-like manner despite the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic since the start of last year.
“The presentations were excellent and every aspect put forward by the various committees made an impact,” he said.
“Quietly and efficiently, the organising committee has gone about its work to reach the point where we are today. It shows how far we have travelled in the situation the world finds itself in.
“We are going through very difficult times and our way of life is changing. We hope it will come back to normal, and many sports events are taking place so this is a plus point for the athletes. We feel very comfortable with the way the organisation of the next Asian Games is taking shape.”
In his opening address, Chinese Olympic Committee Vice President Gao Zhidan praised the OCA for creating “unity and stability” in the Olympic movement in Asia since the outbreak of COVID-19 and looked forward to a safe and successful Asian Games next year.
“Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, the Chinese people, through unremitting efforts, have taken the lead in bringing the domestic epidemic under control and realising economic recovery, which creates favourable conditions for the smooth progress of the Hangzhou Asian Games,” he said.
“We believe that, with the strong support of all parties, China will be able to complete preparatory tasks as scheduled and make all-round preparations to ensure the success of the Games.”
Some of the main areas covered were:
COMPETITION VENUES
Of the 55 competition venues, 42 were completed last month and the remaining stadiums will be finished in October. At the end of February 2021, progress of total construction was 84 per cent. The major venues will be ready for operation in June 2021.
ASIAN GAMES VILLAGE
Hangzhou 2022 will have one main Asian Games Village in the centre of Hangzhou plus four satellite villages in Ningbo, Jinhua, Wenzhou and Chun’an County. The main complex incorporates an athletes’ village for 10,400 athletes and team officials, a technical officials’ village with a capacity of 3,800 and a media village for 5,000 media personnel.
The main village, with 108 buildings, will be completed by December and ready for operation next March.
CHEFS DE MISSION SEMINAR
The Chefs de Mission Seminar for leaders of the National Olympic Committee delegations is set for September 10-11 to coincide with the one-year countdown on September 10 and accompanying festivities.
Plans are in hand for both a meeting of delegates in Hangzhou and for an online meeting on September 9-10, depending on the health protocols in place this July when a decision will be made.
TORCH RELAY
Organisers, with the approval of the OCA, have decided to hold the torch lighting ceremony and torch relay exclusively in China as opposed to the traditional flame-lighting ceremony at the home of the Asian Games – New Delhi – and a relay visiting past and future host cities. This is to reduce the risk of spreading the pandemic.
The torch relays of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the Beijing 2022 Winter Games will be closely monitored by Hangzhou 2022 organisers.
MARKETING
HAGOC reported that 31 sponsors in 24 categories had been secured, including 10 Prestige Partners.
