Nagoya, Japan, July 22, 2026: The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games organising committee marked 60 days to go to the opening ceremony on Tuesday, July 21.
The 20th Asian Games will be held from September 19 to October 4 and it will be the third time for Japan to host the continental showpiece after Tokyo 1958 and Hiroshima 1994.
“60 days to go... the countdown is on!” the OCA posted on social media.
“The 20th Asian Games return to Japan for the third time as Aichi-Nagoya 2026 prepares to make history. Are you ready?”
Preparations will take another big step forward on Thursday, July 23 with the team draw ceremony in eight sports: water polo, handball, football, sepaktakraw, kabaddi, cricket, rugby sevens and volleyball.
Other major events during the countdown include the flame-lighting ceremony and torch relay.
Organising committee AINAGOC will hold flame-lighting events in Tokyo and Hiroshima to honour Japan’s previous two Asian Games host cities.
The two flames will unite in Nagoya to signal the start of the torch relay leading up to the opening ceremony at Nagoya Mizuho Athletics Park on September 19.
Tokyo will begin the flame-lighting events on Tuesday, August 18 at the National Stadium.
Hiroshima will then hold a ceremony at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Thursday, August 20.
The flames will converge on Saturday, August 22 at Nagoya Castle, and the torch relay will begin, covering 40 municipalities of Aichi Prefecture until September 18.
The relay includes a school torch relay from September 7-15, taking in 14 schools selected from 70 applications to host the school torch relay.
The relay will run under the title “A Uniting Flame for All”.