The Asian Games 2010, also known as the XVI Asiad, officially began on 12 November 2010 Guangzhou in China. This two-week long multi-sport event will come to conclusion on 27 November 2010. Guangzhou is the second Chinese city to host the Games, after Beijing played the host in 1990. A total of 476 events in 42 sports will be contested by athletes, making it the largest event in the 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 Asian Games.
The opening ceremony for the 2010 Asian games commenced at Guangzhou and it was for the first time in history of Asian Games that the ceremony was not held inside the stadium; instead, it was held along the Pearl River on Haixinsha Island. The ceremony was directed by Chen Weiya, who also the assistant director of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and featured the cast of about 6,000 performers. The galaxy of VIPs attending the ceremony, inter alia, included Wen Jiabao, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister of Thailand, Abhisit Vejjajiva, as well as President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah and President of International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge.
Firework displays at the Canton Tower
The ceremony which lasted for four hours witnessed athletes being paraded by boats along the Pearl River. The ceremony featured the water-themed arts show and culture of Guangzhou. The last torchbearer, diver He Chong lit up the cauldron, after ignited the traditional Chinese firecrackers whose flare shot up until the tower.
The ceremony was regarded as successful, as IOC President Jacques Rogge described it as “absolutely fantastic”, and had ability to host the Olympics. OCA director general Husain Al-Musallam praises it as unique, fantastic and “just better than the Beijing Olympics”.
Guangzhou was awarded the right to host the Games on 1 July 2004, as the sole bidding city. This came after the withdrawal of several cities, Amman (Jordan), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Seoul (South Korea). The games will also be co-hosted by Dongguan, Foshan, and Shanwei, the three neighbouring cities of Guangzhou.
Official Emblem
Le Yangyang, official mascot of the games
The 2010 Asian Games’ official emblem was unveiled at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on November 26, 2006. It is a stylized goat, which, in Chinese tradition, is a blessing and brings people luck. It is also a representative symbol of the host city Guangzhou, which is called the “City of Rams” or “City of the Five Rams.”
Five sporty rams, dubbed “Le Yangyang,” will serve as the mascots of the Games. They were unveiled on 28 April 2008 at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention and Exhibition Center. The five rams are named A Xiang, A He, A Ru, A Yi and Le Yangyang and are a play on Guangzhou’s nickname, “City of Goats”. Moreover, the Chinese character “yang,” or “goat,” is also an auspicious symbol because, when read together, the Chinese names of the five rams are a message of blessing, literally meaning “harmony, blessings, success and happiness.”
Sports
Compared to the 28 events in the Olympic Games, the 2010 Asian Games will feature 42 events throughout the 16 days of the competition, with added disciplines in some events. 28 and five gold medalists will emerge during the opening day and final day respectively, while a total of 48 gold medalists will be awarded on 25 November 2010, the most in single day. Twnty-20 Cricket is among the debutant sports, with dancesport, dragon boat, weiqi and roller sport, added as unique to the Games. Bodybuilding was dropped due to judging controversy in the 2006 Games.
Participation
All 45 members of the Olympic Council of Asia are participating in the Games. All National Olympic Committees were ordered to have submitted their entry before 30 September 2010. Organisers allow each NOC to submit additional entries and injury replacements after the deadline. After the final registration deadline, some 9,704 athletes, as well as some 4,750 team officials, took part in the Games, an increase of 184 athletes from the previous Asian Games in Doh. According to the Games’ official website, Kuwaiti athletes participated in the Games under the Olympic flag because the Kuwait Olympic Committee was suspended due to political interference in January 2010.
A variety concerns and controversies took place over the Games. Like the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Guangzhou also attempted to raise the air quality of the city. The authority had pledged ￥600 million to fight the problem, and had ordered around 32 chemical plants to stop production by the end of 2009. A report shown on 13 July 2010 indicates that the air quality was rated at 95.07% in 2009, an increase of 12.01% since 2004; this improvement eventually cost authorities’ ￥24 billion. Later action from organisers to curb the pollution included decreasing the movement of vehicles up to 40 percent, and banning barbeque stalls in 11 cities.
In the Games, Cricket is among the five debutant sports in the Games. However, India, despite its historical record, decided not to send its cricket team to the Games. A
