Harbin, China, January 7, 2025: The organising committee of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China held a press conference on Tuesday, January 7 to mark the 30-day countdown.
The 9th AWG will open on February 7 and close on February 14, although the ice hockey tournament will begin on February 3 and curling the following day due to the high number of entries.
Organisers confirmed that Harbin 2025 would attract a record number of athletes, with over 1,270 registered. These comprise over 800 athletes for the ice events in Harbin and over 400 for the snow events in Yabuli.
“This has set a new record for the Asian Winter Games, so we can see the high enthusiasm of people from different parts of the world. It will also be the first time for Saudi Arabia and Cambodia to attend the Asian Winter Games,” HAWGOC said.
Organisers said test events began last September and were continuing this month, with a test event set for Yabuli on January 7 in order to provide a level playing field for all athletes.
Other topics at the press conference included detailed weather forecasts being prepared by the Harbin weather bureau, and the ice and snow clearance measures, with over 40,000 workers involved in this process.
Regarding the opening ceremony at the Harbin International Conference, Exhibition and Sports Centre, the AWG theme of “Dream of Winter, Love among Asia” would be played out in a cultural carnival focusing on connecting people from different parts of Asia and showing the fighting spirit of winter sports athletes.
The creative team were involved in the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and the Hangzhou Asian Games and will provide rich experience in the design and display of the theme. Preparations for the opening ceremony began in November 2024 and rehearsals are already under way in smaller venues throughout Harbin, organisers said.
Overseeing the Games will be 21 technical experts, 600 technicians and 11 specialists from the General Administration of Sport of China to support HAWGOC.
During Games-time, there will be 28 streets designated as Asian Winter Games special traffic lanes and they will be in operation from 6am to 11pm. The city has also added 24,000 car parking spaces.
The press conference was broadcast live on CGTN, including simultaneous English translation.