China Prepares to Host the 56th Asian Games Amidst Pandemic Challenges

The Games were scheduled for September 2022, but they were postponed for a year, due to the severe restrictions in China following the pandemic.

And while Beijing surprisingly abandoned the harsh measures in December, the vice-chairman of the organizing committee, Gu Jinqiang, said Wednesday, “All preparations have entered the final stage.”

The largest games on the continent will start on September 23 and will last for two weeks until October 8.

All the facilities for the 56th session are now ready, but the official in the organizing committee, Chen Weidong, said that the pandemic “has led to many difficulties in terms of building facilities.”

Chen added that foreign technicians were unable to enter China earlier, and the problems had to be solved through video calls.

China’s status as a sports destination was dealt a severe blow during the first three years after the pandemic, as sudden closures and travel rules led to the cancellation of almost all sporting events in the country.

The Asian Games usually attract more than 10,000 athletes from the continent.

Joe revealed that several countries will send the largest delegations in their history, while the host country’s mission includes 900 athletes.

Hangzhou is a thriving technology hub 200 km south of Shanghai. She will become the third Chinese host of the Games after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.

In 2018, the Indonesian Jakarta and Palembang hosted the last edition of the Asiad held once every four years, and the next edition is scheduled to be held in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, in 2026, while Doha will host the 2030 edition and Riyadh the 2034 edition, knowing that the first edition was held in New Delhi, India in 1951, with the participation of about 500 athletes from 11 countries competed in just six sports.