Thimphu, Bhutan, April 1, 2025: Tiny Bhutan not only leads the world in Gross National Happiness, but it will also be a leader on a number of fronts this week as the Bhutan Olympic Committee hosts the prestigious Olympic Council of Asia (OCA)-Olympic Solidarity (OS) Regional Forum 2025.
Sports leaders from 26 National Olympic Committees in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia have come together in this land of breathtaking landscapes nestled in the majestic eastern Himalayas, with the promise that they will be shown “Bhutanese hospitality’ during the April 2-3 event.
“We want to showcase our heritage, our culture, our nature and most of all show Bhutanese hospitality,” were the warm words of welcome from Sonam Karma Tshering, BOC Secretary General, as he greeted the overseas delegations on Tuesday, April 1.
“Over the next two days, we will achieve a number of firsts for Bhutan. This will be the first and largest sporting forum ever held in the country. Bhutan will also be the first overseas Asian NOC to host the OCA’s ‘Asian Games for All’ campaign for the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games,” Sonam Tshering pointed out.
The BOC Secretary General added: “We will be the first NOC to host the 2026 Asian Games Fun Run, hold the Asian Games Youth Reporter Project and the Asian Games Children’s Art Competition, and also the first NOC to host the Olympic Solidarity Quadrennial Plan for 2025-2028.
“All of this taken together – the Forum and the 2026 Asian Games campaign – will mean this is the biggest sporting event ever held in Bhutan. We want to show the world that we have the capacity to organise and host major international events.”
The world is already impressed with Bhutan’s national philosophy of Gross National Happiness which emphasises well-being and harmony over material wealth. And harmony will be at the crux of the forum.
“We strongly believe in harmony which is the centrepiece theme of this OCA-OS Forum, and underlines the solidarity shown by sports in Asia. Over the next couple of days, our friends from Asia can network with representatives from the OCA and the International Olympic Committee,” Sonam Tshering said.
