Kuwait City, Kuwait, January 1, 2026: On behalf of the Olympic Council of Asia, I would like to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year 2026.
The coming year promises to be an eventful one for the Olympic movement in Asia with the OCA holding a number of key multi-sport games beginning with the Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China from April 22 – 30.
The highlight, of course, will be the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from September 19 to October 4. It will be the third occasion our flagship event will be held in Japan, and we are confident our hosts will once again put on a memorable event.
The OCA will have a third multi-sport games in 2026, with the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games to be held in December in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
We look forward to welcoming athletes from all our 45 National Olympic Committees across Asia at our events.
It will be a busy year for our athletes as there will be two multi-sport games held under the umbrella of the International Olympic Committee, starting with the XXV Olympic Winter Games in Milano, Cortina, Italy from February 6 – 22.
Later in the year, from October 31 – November 13, the Youth Olympic Games will be held in Dakar, Senegal.
Apart from these sporting events, the 2026 diary will be full with the OCA set to offer more projects to our NOCs in collaboration with the IOC’s Solidarity department which will benefit athletes, coaches, referees and administrators.
Two such events will be Asian Youth Camps in wrestling and e-sport to be held in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, China, respectively, in July.
In addition, the OCA will also step up its ‘Asian Games for All’ campaign as part of the build-up to the Aichi-Nagoya showpiece, by holding fun runs, the youth reporter project and children’s art competitions in a number of countries.
As you can see, 2026 will be a busy and exciting year for the Olympic movement across Asia – and I wish you all good health and success as we follow our OCA motto ‘Ever Onward’ in the New Year.
