Nagoya, Japan, September 23, 2025: Asia’s diverse culture and music, and traditional Japanese folk art, took centre-stage at the one-year countdown ceremony for the 20thAsian Games in Aichi-Nagoya next year.
Chefs de Missions and delegates from 43 National Olympic Committees across Asia witnessed a colourful one-year-to-go countdown ceremony for the Asian Games at the Nagoya TV Tower on Tuesday evening, September 23.
It began with a performance of Owari Manzai, a traditional form of Japanese folk art originating in the Owari region (modern-day Aichi Prefecture) where a troupe dressed in ancient garb performed ‘blessings’ on next year’s showpiece through song, dance and humorous dialogue.
This was followed by a vibrant and colourful One Asia cultural show with the dynamic rhythms and music from the five Asian zones – East, West, Southeast, Central and South – performed brilliantly.
A Light Up ceremony and video projection featuring images from the past 19 Asian Games, and a portrayal of the flags and emblems of the 45 countries and regions who will compete at the September 19-October 4,2026 Asian Games was next up.
OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam, Chair of the OCA Coordination Committee for the 20th Asian Games Tayyab Ikram, and two senior officials from the Organising Committee, (AINAGOC) then participated in the Official Invitation Handover Ceremony.
Chefs de Mission representing five National Olympic Committees who held past, or will hold future Asian Games were invited on to the stage where they received an Official Invitation for the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
The CDMs represented NOC Indonesia and NOC China – Past Games in 2018 Jakarta and 2022 Hangzhou, respectively – NOC of Qatar (Future Asian Games 2030 Doha) and NOC of Saudi Arabia (Future Asian Games 2034 Riyadh), and the host NOC Japan for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games, received their invitations from OCA Director General and Tayyab Ikram.
