Nagoya, Japan, September 1, 2026: It’s here – the Asian Games month of September!
Tuesday, September 1 brought the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya within touching distance, with the opening ceremony set for Saturday, September 19 at the refurbished and redeveloped Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
The arrival of September will add renewed energy and purpose to the preparations, as 11,000 athletes and 6,000 team officials from the OCA’s 45 National Olympic Committees prepare to descend on Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Tokyo and other co-host cities.
September will also bring several landmark events and occasions, including:
*The torch relay is already up and running after the flame-lighting ceremony at Nagoya Castle on Saturday, August 22. The relay involves 1,000 torchbearers over two routes and will end on September 18 – the day before the opening ceremony.
*The torch relay will incorporate a school relay from September 7-15 in 14 schools, bringing the Asian Games into the daily lives of the students.
*September 10 will see the start of Asian Games competition as basketball gets underway.
*September 15 will be a landmark day for the Asian Games Village, as the cruise liner will dock at Kinjo Pier in Nagoya Port. The cruise liner and temporary homes, known as Asian Games Villas and located at nearby Garden Pier, will form the main Athletes’ Village in Nagoya, with an athletes’ plaza and other attractions. An official welcome reception will be held for the cruise liner at 1pm on September 15.
*The Team Welcome Ceremony for the 45 NOCs will take place from September 16-18 at Garden Pier, with five NOCs per session and three sessions per day, from 10am, 1.30pm and 5pm.
The 20th Asian Games will run from September 19 to October 4 with 43 sports, 71 disciplines and 469 events.