ISLAMABAD: The 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, will come to an end on Sunday. So far, there have been 15 world records broken, according to the organizing committee, which held a summary press conference on Saturday morning.
A total of 11,830 athletes from 45 countries and regions have come to China to participate in the competitions of 481 events across 61 disciplines in 40 sports, including nine non-Olympic sports. In addition to the 15 world records, the athletes also set 28 Asian records and 150 Asian Games records by Friday night (October 6).
“The Asian Games in Hangzhou includes the most events, the most participants and went through the most complicated organizing work in Asian Games history,” Zhu Qi’nan, a spokesperson for the organizing committee, said at the press conference. “It may also be one of the most complicated multi-sport events in the world.”
Spectators attend the basketball women’s semifinals between China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, October 3, 2023. /CFP
“Both the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day of China are being celebrated during the Asian Games,” another spokesperson, Mao Genhong, said. “The two holidays bring more attention to the Asian Games.”
By Saturday (October 7), 3.05 million tickets have been sold for the Asian Games, leading to a revenue of 610 million yuan (about $84.8 million) and an attendance rate of 92 percent. The highest attendance reached 290,000 on October 1.
As one of the most distinguishing features of this year’s Asian Games, the digital igniting of the flame, which was done via the app “Smart Hangzhou 2022,” drew over 130 million registrations and some 5.9 billion clicks.
Souvenirs for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, on display, October 1, 2023. /CFP
Mao said that Hangzhou will benefit from the long tail of the Asian Games as most of the over-60 authorized item manufacturing enterprises and the over-130 authorized item sales companies for the Asian Games are from the private sector. Five of the 11 partner enterprises are based locally in Zhejiang. Two of the four sponsors are private companies.
Mao told reporters that, from December to the coming years, Hangzhou will host a series of international sports events, which will facilitate the development of the sports industry in China.
