The 2010 Asian Games,also known as the XVI Asiad,are a sporting that takes place in Guangzhou,China,from 12 to 27 November 2010.Guangzhou is the second city in China to host the Games,after Beijing in 1990.A total of 476 events in 42 sports will be contested by athletes,making it the largest event in history of the Games.It will also be the last iteration of the Games to have featured such big events,as the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) have enforced new hosting rules for future games,beginning with the 2014 Games.
Guangzhou was awarded the right to host the Games on July 1,2004,as the sole bidding city.This came after the withdrawal of several cities,Amman,Kuala Lumpur and Seoul.The games will also be co-hosted by Dongguan,Foshan and Shanwei,the three neighbouring cities.
Venues
Guangdong Olympic Stadium
Main article:Venues of the 2010 Asian Games
There are 53 competition venues and 17 training venues available for the Games,with four venues held outside the Guangdong province.These include the Asian Games Town,which consists of the Athletes' Village,Technical Officials' Village,Media Village,Main Media Center and International Broadcast Center.[16] Organisers revealed that the total investment is over ￥15 billion.[17]
On April 19,2009,organisers chose Haixinsha Island,along with the Pearl River,as the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies,the only venue which not serve as purpose for competition.[18]
Torch relay
Main article:2010 Asian Games torch relay
Torch relay route
Two torch designs were short-listed in September 2009 for the 2010 Asian Games.A design named The Tide was chosen over one named Exploit by the organisers as the torch of the Games.[19]
The torch relay route was unveiled on March 4,2010.For financial reasons,[20] the torch relay duration around Guangdong and two other cities off Guangdong are 30 days.The flame of the torch was lit in the Great Wall of China on October 9,2010,and travelled around the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.21 cities were present in the list of relay,with 2,010 torchbearers expected to carry it from October 12 to November 12,2010;[21][22] however,two cities were added later in the route for a single day on October 15,2010,making the number of torchbearer increase to 2,068 people.[23]
The relay in Harbin was held in the main venue of the 1996 Asian Winter Games,the Harbin Ice Hockey Rink,while the relay on October 22,2010 was affected by Typhoon Megi as it was held under the rain.[24] The relay from November 6–8 was acted as demonstration relay.
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony took place on November 12,2010 at 20:04 local time.For the first time in history,the ceremony was not held inside the stadium; instead,it was held along the Pearl River on Haixinsha Island.[25] Prior to the ceremony,Chen Weiya,its director,who also the assistant director of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing,claimed in a special interview that the ceremony "will surprise the world".[26] The ceremony was attended by the Premier of the People's Republic of China,Wen Jiabao,[27] President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari,[28] Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva,[29] and Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong Henry Tang.[30]
According to pre-release statement,some 7,000 people were planned to contribute to the ceremony,with the team parade to be held at 21:00 local time,while a "mysterious" lightning ceremony was to be held at 21:42 local time.Two themes were used for the ceremony:at the sea and land.[31] Some performers participated in the ceremony,including Korean singer Kim Hyun Joong,who sang the song"Sunshine Again",[32] and Mongolian band "Borte".[33]
