Sanya, China, May 12, 2020: The organising committee of the Olympic Council of Asia’s 6th Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China at the end of this year celebrated 200 days to go to the opening ceremony on Tuesday, May 12.
The 6th ABG will run from November 28 to December 6, 2020 at Sanya – a resort city on the tropical Hainan island province in southern China.
The ceremony included the official launch of the new ABG website, the contract signing of the first batch of merchandise licensees and the announcement of the first torch bearers of the ABG. Overall, the ceremony showed that preparations for the ABG were progressing full steam ahead with six months still to go.
Other aspects of the ceremony included the history of the ABG, which dates back to the first edition at Bali, Indonesia in 2008, the highlights of previous events and the charm of Sanya city through interviews and live videos with citizens and visitors.
The ABG licensed merchandise are all cultural and creative products with independent intellectual property rights, including the mascot Yaya, refrigerator stickers, sports belt bags, badges and notebooks. Many companies signed the contracts during the ceremony to obtain the franchise right of the ABG licensed merchandise.
As a mark of pride and gratitude, representatives of the Hainan medical team assisting Hubei province during the COVID-19 pandemic were invited to the ceremony. They will also become torch bearers in the torch relay leading up to the games.
The 6th ABG will feature 17 sports, 19 disciplines and 93 events at four venue clusters. It will be the first intercontinental multi-sports meeting to be held in Hainan province.
The theme of the 200-day countdown ceremony was that the fighting spirit of the people of Asia and the world would prevail, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic which halted the footsteps of spring and resulted in a prolonged cold winter.
“Some dreadful calamities, such as earthquakes, tsunamis and epidemics, cannot be prevented. But in the end our fighting spirit will prevail,” was the message.
“Whether it is in China or other parts of Asia we choose to stand side by side when a dreadful disaster happens. In times of hardship it is the togetherness that helps keep alive the glimmer of hope.
“Under the same blue sky, 45 Asian National Olympic Committees are forming a community with a shared future. When we unite as one we can win this fight against the virus.”
