The grand gala for the one-year countdown to the Hangzhou Asian Games

Themed “Expectations”, the one-year countdown ceremony for the 19th Asian Games was launched at the tennis stadium of Hangzhou’s Olympic Sports Center on the evening of September 10. Highlighting various expectations from different people and organizations all over the world for the games, the ceremony also saw the unveiling of the torch design and the uniform design.

The torch was named “Eternal Flame” and its design was inspired by the Liangzhu Culture, which was a testament to the 5000-year-old Chinese civilization. The torch was shaped in a way that “grows” from bottom to top, with an overall height of 730 millimeters and a net weight of 1,200 grams.

This ceremony marks another milestone for the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games. In the next year, the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC) will continue their efforts for the preparations for the games, and promote the Asian Games culture all across the country.

Tehran, Iran. The year was 1974. Chinese athlete Su Zhibo changed history with his final shot. In the men’s 50-meter pistol competition, he won the first gold medal of that year’s Asian Games with 552 points and China’s first gold medal in the history of Asian Games.

Like Xu Haifeng, who won the first Summer Olympic Games gold medal for China in Los Angeles Games a decade later, Su’s first gold medal at the Asian Games was groundbreaking, marking the resurgence of Chinese sport on the international stage. Since then, China has gradually become a sports powerhouse in Asia in particular, and all over the world.

In 1990, Beijing held the 11th Asian Games. In 2010, Guangzhou held the 16th Asian Games. Twelve years later, the Asian Games will come to China again.

The Asian Games officially entered “Hangzhou time” following the flag handover

during the closing ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta

Hangzhou is the third Chinese city to hold the Asian Games in the past three decades. Of the three Asian Games, one was in the north in China’s political and economic center, one in the south in one of the pioneer cities of reform and opening up, and now this one in the middle in Hangzhou, famous for internet technologies and for being one of the best places to live in.

Behind the change of host cities is China’s economic and social development and progress over the past 30 years.

If the Beijing Asian Games epitomized a developing country forging ahead in its reform and opening up, the Guangzhou Asian Games highlighted a nation in the East with growing influence, the Hangzhou Asian Games will show the world a major and rising power marching into the new era.

Over the past 30 years, the changes in the way Chinese people view sports reflect the changing meaning of sports to China. It is also a process in which China and the international sports community are better connected, and sports and business are getting more standardized and regulated.

The Hangzhou Asian Games will reflect the capabilities of Chinese cities to host major international events, and show the progress and internationalization of Chinese cities, for example, in making long-term plans, budgeting, planning for the legacy of the events as early as the preparation stage, managing revenues, among other areas.

Looking back on the bidding process of the Hangzhou Asian Games, it is apparent that the Asian Games and China have been influencing one another and developing together.

After Hangzhou’s successful bid to host the Asian Games, a crucial matter was how to leverage the event to further develop Hangzhou, build it into a unique global city and help Zhejiang become an important window showcasing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. To fully understand the impact of hosting the Asian Games on its development, the city of Hangzhou did a forecast study in July 2015. According to the research, Hangzhou’s winning the bid would a wide range of far-reaching effects, such as driving its economic development, stimulating investment in fixed assets, improving venue layout, accelerating its internationalization and optimizing social governance.

While the main event will take place in Hangzhou, cities in Zhejiang province including Wenzhou, Jinhua, Shaoxing, Xiangshan (Ningbo) and Deqing (Huzhou) will be hosting a number of competitions as well, further promoting the construction of metropolitan areas and the integration of the Yangtze River Delta region.

With 40 confirmed sports, including 31 Olympic sports, 9 non-Olympic sports (dragon boat, mind sports, cricket, kabaddi, roller sports, sepak takraw, squash, wushu and martial arts), the Hangzhou Asian Games is set to be the biggest with the most events. Indeed, e-sports and breakdancing will be featured in the Asian games for the first time.

The launching ceremony for the Asian Games 10 Cities Tour

The Hangzhou Asian Games will also see more countries (regions) joining the competitions. On the basis of 45 participating countries (regions) in previous editions, countries (regions) from Oceania will compete for the first time at the Hangzhou Asian Games, with the number of participating countries (regions) reaching 63. More than 10,000 athletes are expected to compete in the games. In addition, there will be about 5,000 international sports organizations, technical representatives and technical officials, 7,000 journalists, photographers, and non-exclusive-rights-holding broadcasters, 6,000 anchors and exclusive-rights-holding broadcasters, 900 official partners, sponsors and suppliers, and more than 4.7 million spectators and 52,000 volunteers.

The Hangzhou Asian Games will also attract youth participation, as e-sports, break dancing was officially introduced in the event for the first time; it will put the Asian Games into the global spotlight as young people everywhere will pay close attention.

An interesting fact is that the opening ceremony for the Hangzhou Asian Games will fall on September 10, 2022, which is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, a day celebrating a family reunion. During the games, which will run from September 10 to September 25, 2022, Hangzhou usually enjoys crisp autumn, fragrant osmanthus, and an average temperature of about 20 degrees, most suitable for sports competitions.

The success of the Asian Games is of great significance for Hangzhou. It is a grand event on a continental scale, which is an all-around test for the city of Hangzhou as well as an opportunity for further development as well.

The 19th Asian Games is not only a sports event but also an “important window” to showcase Hangzhou’s urban construction, historical and cultural heritage, and rapid development. By preparing for the Asian Games, Hangzhou will continuously promote its economic and social development and expand its influence in Asia as well as across the globe. By 2022, people from around China, Asia, and the entire world will get to see a brand-new Hangzhou.

Editor: Huang Yan