Luang Prabang, Laos, March 3, 2023: The Olympic Council of Asia has highlighted the teamwork of the Olympic sports movement and local government ahead of the Asian Games Fun Run in Luang Prabang on Saturday, March 4.
The 13th leg of the Asian Games Fun Run to promote the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China this September will be held in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Luang Prabang – a popular tourist destination with its abundance of temples, street cafes and open air markets, on the banks of the Mekong River.
The official press conference to promote the Laos leg of the Asian Games Fun Run took place at the Souphattra Hotel on Friday evening and the top table guests included representatives of the OCA, Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee and the National Olympic Committee of Laos along with the Deputy Governor of Luang Prabang Province and Deputy Minister of Education and Sports.
“The OCA would like to thank the National Olympic Committee of Laos for hosting the Asian Games Fun Run in the beautiful city of Luang Prabang, which is famous as a World Heritage site,” the OCA’s Director of Media and Broadcasting, Jeans Zhou Jian, said.
“This will be the 13th Asian Games Fun Run outside of China and we can see the great preparations that have taken place, thanks to the NOC, the Sports Ministry and the Governor of Luang Prabang Province.
“I am very confident that the Asian Games Fun Run in Luang Prabang tomorrow (Saturday) will be a great success because of this support.”
The OCA is planning to organise between 28 and 30 Asian Games Fun Runs in all five zones of the continent to promote the 19th Asian Games, which will take place in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8, 2023.
Wissam Trkmani, OCA Director of Projects and Administration Affairs, said the Fun Run not only promoted the Asian Games but also helped to build a healthy society.
“It is about sport, fun and friendship,” he said, while pointing out that this “festival of diversity” had played a big part in the success story of the Asian Games from the first edition in 1951 through to this year – an unbroken sequence of 72 years.
“The Asian Games is the second biggest multi-sport event in the world after the Olympic Games and we will be holding the 19th Asian Games in China for the third time, following Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010,” he added.