Building a glorious dream in Hangzhou
Hangzhou is right on track to achieve great success as host city of the 19th Asian Games in 2022, according to a top Olympic official.
“As one of the famous cities in China, I am very confident that Hangzhou can deliver one of the best Games ever,” Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), said on Thursday.
“Since my previous visit to Hangzhou, a lot of progress has been made. I was here in April 2017 to open the headquarters for the organizing committee of the Hangzhou Asian Games and meet the management team in charge of preparations,” said Sheikh Ahmad, who is leading a delegation conducting an inspection of venues.
“Now I can see a lot of things are becoming reality, such as the stadium, the swimming hall and the Olympic village,”
“I think we are moving steadily in the right direction. The private sector is participating, which is very good. And neighboring cities are participating to share with Hangzhou some of the sports and events.”
The OCA president also predicted the Games will be an economic boost for the region.
“This event will be a nice asset for the city, for the new generation. And we are looking forward to a smart Games because Hangzhou is the headquarters of e-commerce giant Alibaba. We hope all of those things will help deliver a great Asiad.”
He further added he is most impressed with the landscape of the main venue, in the form of a lotus.
“It’s good to keep it green, with the river flowing beside. I think this is something that will impress everybody. I’m also very happy that we are helping with the society. For example, the Games village and the media village will accommodate citizens in the future — like a new city inside Hangzhou.”
Construction of the main stadium inside the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center “is almost complete,” according to Games organizers.
With a construction area of 229,000 square meters, the stadium will hold up to 80,000 spectators.
In September 2015, Hangzhou won the bid to host the 19th Asian Games. Since then, preparatory work has proceeded smoothly
“We aim to host a green, intelligent, frugal and civilized Asian Games,” Hangzhou Mayor Xu Liyi told China Daily.
Hangzhou is the third Chinese city to host the Games, after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.
China first took part in the Asian Games in 1974 in Tehran and, since the New Delhi Games in 1982, has led the Asiad medal count.
The nation’s latest success was at the Jakarta Games in August, where China won 289 medals, including 132 gold.
China’s gold medal tally for the 12 Asiads is 1,473.