Hangzhou, China, October 18, 2021: The Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia, Husain Al-Musallam, welcomed the local and international media to the 1st World Press Briefing for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 on Monday, October 18.
With media based in China attending the two-day briefing in person at the Hangzhou International Expo Centre and overseas media joining online, Mr. Al-Musallam said the media played a big part in the promotion of the Asian Games.
“Media play an important role in the successful conduct of the Asian Games and spreading the Olympic Values all around the globe,” he said via video message at the opening ceremony.
“OCA works closely with the organising committee HAGOC to offer the best working and living environment for all our media friends such as a convenient transportation network, comfortable Asian Games Media Village, a well-equipped Media Press Centre and easily accessible Information System.
“Taking this opportunity, I hope this World Press Briefing will provide ample opportunity to all our media friends to receive all information concerning the Hangzhou Asian Games – and I am confident that the OCA and HAGOC media services team will answer all your questions and inquiries in these two days of meetings and venue inspections. Looking forward to meeting you all next year in Hangzhou.”
The Vice Mayor of Hangzhou and Deputy Secretary General of HAGOC, Mr Chen Weiqiang, addressed the audience on behalf of the organising committee and said the presentations from the various departments would explain all the processes and procedures regarding media services and operations.
The presentations included a general update on Games preparations and highlights, specific Games preparations such as the sports programme, venue construction, press operations including an overview of the Main Media Centre, Venue Media Centres, photography operations, media information services and media support services.
Other topics included logistics, transport, accommodation, food and beverage, Media Village operations, accreditation, rate card, arrival and departure, technology, opening and closing ceremonies and the brand, identity and look of the Asian Games.
The 19th Asian Games will take place from September 10-25, 2022 in Hangzhou – capital city of Zhejiang province in eastern China – and five co-host cities.
There will be 40 sports, 61 disciplines and 482 events, with 5 million tickets available for the 600 sports sessions and ceremonies. Esports and breaking will be making their debut as medal sports in the Asian Games.
Of the 55 venue competitions, 44 had been completed by the end of September.
All competition venues, as well as the main AGV, will be completed by the end of the year in time for trial operations next March.
The media also heard that 266,000 people had applied to be volunteers and that the marketing programme had attracted 10 prestige partners and 72 sponsors and suppliers.
The Main Media Centre (MMC) will incorporate the Main Press Centre (MPC) and International Broadcast Centre (IBC) and will be located at the Hangzhou International Expo Centre, 1km from the Main Stadium in Olympic Park.
The MPC will be in Exhibition Hall 1C, which has an exhibition area of 9,000 sq metres, and the IBC will be in Exhibition Hall 1D, slightly larger at 9,600 sq m.
The Hangzhou International Expo Centre hosted the G20 Hangzhou Summit in September 2016.
The Media Village will be located in the main Asian Games Village, 3km from the Main Stadium, and will accommodate 5,000 media, although 3,300 media can also stay in official hotels in the city and co-host cities. The Media Village is just one part of the main AGV, along with the Athletes’ Village (10,400 athletes and team officials) and Technical Officials’ Village (3,800).
The briefing attracted media from 32 countries and regions, 24 International Federations/Asian Federations, 110 media organisations and a total of 400 attendees in Hangzhou and online. Delegates from the World University Games Chengdu 2022, Sanya Asian Beach Games, Shantou Asian Youth Games and 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 also attended.
