Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 6, 2023: Sri Lanka’s newest piece of real estate – Colombo Port City – will host seventh overseas leg of the Hangzhou Asian Games Fun Run.
The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka revealed that the Port City, rising on 2.6 sq km of reclaimed land being built by China along the seafront of the capital Colombo, will be the venue for the second South Asia stopover of the Asian Games Fun Run on Tuesday, February 7.
“We deliberated for a long time on the venue and decided on the Colombo Port City as it is closely connected to Chinese investment. This is an important place and an ideal location to showcase the Hangzhou Asian Games. It will also underline the close friendship between Sri Lanka and China,” explained Maxwell de Silva, Secretary General of Sri Lanka NOC.
The 19th Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8, 2023 under the motto “Heart to Heart, @Future”.
The Fun Run at Colombo Port City will be held under the patronage of the Olympic Council of Asia and the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee.
“For us, hosting this Fun Run is a momentous opportunity and we are taking it with both hands,” said Suresh Subramaniam, NOC President.
More than 700 participants will figure in the 2-kilometre Fun Run, including 300 schoolchildren, with the event being shown live on television.
Organisers have also lined up a colourful pageant with the highlight being a jet-ski show presented by the Sri Lanka Navy and a traditional martial arts display – Angampora – by the Sri Lanka Army.
“The Fun Run is mainly a programme where we want society to be involved and celebrate the Asian Games in Hangzhou. This is more than just about the athletes competing,” said Jeans Zhou Jian, OCA Director of Media and Broadcast Department.
A delegation from the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee was also present at the Fun Run press conference on Monday, February 6. They were Wu Jianzhong, Deputy Director of Games Services Department, Ge Jianyang, Press and Public Relations Department, and Bao Hanyuan, Games Services Department.
The overseas fun runs began in Cambodia last October and continued in Uzbekistan, Thailand, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The sixth leg – and first in South Asia – was held in the Maldives last Saturday.
