Kuwait City, Kuwait, October 30, 2024: As President of the Olympic Council of Asia, I would like to congratulate the Harbin Asian Winter Games Organising Committee on the occasion of the 100-day countdown on October 30, 2024.
In such a short space of time, HAWGOC has set the stage for an exciting and memorable 9th Asian Winter Games, due to held from February 7-14, 2025.
With six sports, 11 disciplines and 64 events, the 9th AWG will be compact and fast-moving and offer world-class ice sports in Harbin and world-class snow sports in Yabuli, around 190km away.
Harbin is known as the cradle of winter sports in China and has vast experience in organising ice and snow competitions, notably the 3rdAsian Winter Games in 1996 and the XXIV Winter Universiade in 2009.
As well as this, the outstanding success of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing is still fresh in the memory, so the OCA is confident that Harbin 2025 can write another important chapter in the development of winter sports in China.
The remaining 100 days to the opening ceremony will pass quickly, so it is vital that HAWGOC, the OCA and our National Olympic Committees work together as a team to guarantee a smooth and efficient build-up to the Games in this final stage of preparations.
The timeline is in place, the deadlines are set and a few key meetings are still to take place, so let’s make sure we are all in the same boat to guide us to our final destination in Harbin next February.
The OCA is very proud of our Asian Winter Games, providing our athletes with a stepping stone to the Winter Olympics and embracing the NOCs from warmer climates who are trying to develop winter sports.
On a personal level, I am very much looking forward to visiting Harbin and Yabuli next February.
I am sure the athletes, officials and spectators will have a wonderful time, not only experiencing top-class winter sports but also the warmth of the local people around the city, notably the magnificent Harbin Ice and Snow World.