Hangzhou, China, September 21, 2023: Asian Games organising committee HAGOC has announced that all 45 National Olympic Committees have completed their registration procedures and checked in to the Athletes’ Village.
This was confirmed at the Chefs de Mission meeting at the Athletes’ Village on Thursday morning, underlining the number of athletes – around 12,500 – as the largest in Asian Games history. The previous highest was 11,300 at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia in 2018.
The CDM meeting also provided details on the opening ceremony, which will be held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium on Saturday, September 23. It will start at 8pm and last around two hours, with the parade of athletes beginning at 8.08pm.
Organisers announced that athletes, after marching into the stadium from one of two designated gates, will go directly to the stands, where 5,000 seats have been reserved. Furthermore, athletes will be able to leave the stadium from 9pm and head back to the Athletes’ Village, as some of them may be competing the following day.
The marching order of the NOCs was also confirmed, with Afghanistan leading the way and China, as host, the last team to enter the stadium, after Yemen.
The Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, nicknamed “Big Lotus”, is located just 4km from the Athletes’ Village.
Regarding the election for the OCA Athletes’ Committee, OCA Acting Director General Vinod Kumar Tiwari reported that almost 1,100 athletes had already voted since the voting process opened on September 18. This represents 8 per cent of the total number of athletes who will be attending the 19th Asian Games and eligible to vote through to the deadline on October 6.
“I think this is a very good number, and we encourage your athletes to vote at the dining hall,” Mr. Tiwari urged the NOC delegates during the meeting.
For the first time in OCA history, athletes can vote to elect 10 members of the OCA Athletes’ Committee from the 26 candidates representing the five zones of Asia. Voting stations are located in the main Athletes’ Village in Hangzhou as well as in the five sub-villages and three athletes’ residences throughout Zhejiang province.