Ndtyjky

XVIII Asian Games

Host city	Jakarta, Palembang
Country	Indonesia
Motto	"Energy of Asia"[2] (Indonesian: Energi Asia)
Nations participating	45
Athletes participating	11,720
Events	465 in 40 sports[3]
Opening ceremony	18 August[4]
Closing ceremony	2 September
Officially opened by	Joko Widodo President of Indonesia
Officially closed by	Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah President of the Olympic Council of Asia
Athlete's Oath	Arki Dikania Wisnu
Judge's Oath	Wahyana
Torch lighter	Susi Susanti
Website	Official website
<  Incheon 2014 Hangzhou 2022  >

Part of a series on the

2018 Asian Games Bid process Venues Torch relay Opening ceremony (flag bearers) Medal table (medalists) Sport calendar Chronological summary Closing ceremony Mascot Music album Concerns and controversies Asian Para Games (medal table) v t e

The 2018 Asian Games (Indonesian: Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018,^{[citation needed]}Asian Games 2018), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta–Palembang 2018, was a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 18 August to 2 September 2018 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) originally awarded the games to Hanoi, Vietnam in November 2012, but the hosting rights were given up seventeen months later. Indonesia, which originally finished second in the bid, was considered as the strongest replacement candidate and eventually awarded the rights amid the 2014 games. Surabaya, the city put forward during the bid, was replaced by Jakarta and Palembang, having hosted the 2011 Southeast Asian Games together.

For the first time, the Asian Games were co-hosted in two cities; the Indonesian capital of Jakarta (which is hosting the Games for the first time since 1962), and Palembang, the capital of the South Sumatra province. Events were held in and around the two cities, including venues in Bandung and some places in the provinces of West Java and Banten. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Games were held at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta. Also for the first time, eSports and canoe polo were contested as demonstration sports.

China led the medal tally for the tenth consecutive time. North Korea and South Korea march under the Korean Unification Flag at the opening ceremony and for the first time competed as a unified team in some events. They also won one—and first—gold medal as a unified team. Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee was announced as the most valuable player (MVP) of the Games. There were 6 world, 18 Asian and 86 Asian Games records broken during the Games.^[3]

Bidding process

The OCA originally planned to hold these Games in 2019 rather than 2018, so that Asian Games would be held in the year immediately before the 2020 Summer Olympics instead of two years before. After they were awarded to Indonesia, the OCA backtracked on these plans and kept the Games in 2018, so that they would not interfere with the 2019 Indonesian general election.^[6][7]

Initial bidding

Hanoi, Vietnam was originally selected to be the host after they won the bid against two other candidates, Surabaya and Dubai. They were awarded the winning bid on 8 November 2012, with 29 votes against Surabaya's 14 votes.^[8] Dubai pulled out at the last minute, instead announcing their intention to focus on future bids. The UAE's National Olympic Committee's vice-president denied any pullout and claimed that Dubai "did not apply for hosting 2019 Asian Games" and had "only considered" doing so.^[9][10][11]

However, in March 2014, there were some concerns about Vietnam's ability to host. These included concerns over whether the anticipated budget of US$150 million was realistic. There were claims that the government would eventually spend over US$300 million. In addition, critics were concerned that several stadiums built in conjunction with 2003 Southeast Asian Games had not been utilized since.^[12] Former chairman of the Vietnam Olympic Committee Ha Quang Du also claimed that hosting the Asian Games would not boost tourism in Vietnam.^[13]

On 17 April 2014, the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng officially announced Hanoi's withdrawal from hosting, citing unpreparedness and economic recession as the main reasons for the withdrawal, saying "they have left the country unable to afford the construction of facilities and venues".^[14] Many Vietnamese people supported the decision to withdraw.^[15] No penalty was imposed for the withdrawal.^[16]

Appointment of Jakarta and Palembang

After Hanoi's withdrawal, the OCA said that Indonesia, China, and the United Arab Emirates were major candidates under consideration to host.^[17] Indonesia was widely regarded as a favourite, since Surabaya was the runner-up of the previous bid,^[18] and willing to do so if selected.^[19] The Philippines^[20] and India expressed their interest about hosting the Games, but India failed to submit a late bid because it was unable to get an audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after being given an extended deadline by the OCA.^[21]

On 5 May 2014, the OCA visited some Indonesian cities including Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Palembang. At this time Surabaya decided to drop their bid to host the Games and instead focus on hosting the already scheduled 2021 Asian Youth Games.^[22] On 25 July 2014, during a meeting in Kuwait City, the OCA appointed Jakarta as the host of the Games with Palembang as the supporting host. Jakarta was chosen because of its well-equipped sports facilities, adequate transportation networks, and other facilities such as hotels and lodgings for guests.^[23] On 20 September 2014, Indonesia signed the host city contract,^[24] and during the closing ceremony of 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Indonesia was appointed symbolically by the OCA to host the next Games.^[25][26][27]

Development and preparations

Costs

By 2015, the central government had allocated a budget of IDR 3 trillion (US$224 million) to prepare for the Games, with regional administrations also expected to supply some part of the funding.^[28] By July 2018, the budget allocation for the Games had been reported to be IDR 6.6 trillion (US$450 million) including IDR 869 billion (US$59 million) from sponsorships.^[29][30][31] However, on 2 September 2018, Finance Minister of Indonesia disclosed that IDR 8.2 trillion was financed by 2015-2018 state budget, which was used by the local organizing committee, namely the Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC), for all preparations, opening, organizing, and finalizing the implementation of the 2018 Asian Games.^[32] The total cost for arranging the Games is estimated about US$3.2 billion, of which $2.4 billion being spent on infrastructure development associated with the games.^[33][34]

Branding and design

Bhin Bhin, Kaka, and Atung, mascots of the 2018 Asian Games

The initial logo for the 2018 Asian Games was first unveiled on 9 September 2015, in celebration of the country's National Sports Day.^[35] On 27 December 2015, the Games' mascot Drawa was unveiled by vice president Jusuf Kalla. Both the emblem and mascot were a stylized rendition of the cenderawasih, a rare species of bird in Indonesia.^[36][37]

The designs were widely criticised for their outdated appearance, and Drawa was also criticised for having little connection to Indonesian culture and history (with some Indonesians joking that the mascot looked more like a chicken than a cenderawasih). Organisers ultimately withdrew the original emblem and mascot, and announced an open call for a new design. Out of 60 submissions, the new emblem — entitled "Energy of Asia" — was unveiled on 28 July 2016. The new emblem was modelled upon the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, and was intended to symbolise unity among Asian countries.^[38][39][40]

Three new mascots were also unveiled: Bhin Bhin—a greater bird-of-paradise; Atung—a Bawean deer; and Kaka^{[note 1]}—a Javan rhinoceros. They represent the Eastern, Central, and Western regions of Indonesia,^[42] as well as strategy, speed and strength. The mascots' outfits reflect traditional textiles; Bhin Bhin wears a vest with Asmat pattern details, Atung wears a Sarong with Batik tumpal patterns, and Kaka wears a Palembang Songket with flower patterns. Their names were derived from the national motto of Indonesia, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika".^[43]

Merchandise

The medal designs were unveiled in July 2018, featuring batik designs reflecting the unity and diversity of Indonesian and Asian culture.^[44]

Marketing and promotion

On 18 August 2017, simultaneous events were held at Jakarta's National Monument and Palembang's Kuto Besak Fort to mark the one-year milestone before the Games. The event in Jakarta was attended by president Joko Widodo, and featured performances by Taeyeon and Kim Hyo-yeon of K-pop group Girls' Generation. Countdown clocks were unveiled at the Selamat Datang Monument and in front of Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium.^[45][46]

Several fun run events were held in Asian countries to promote the Games, beginning with Lahore, Pakistan in December 2017.^[47]

Furthermore, the games' merchandises and licensing products which included mascot plush toys were sold in host city Jakarta from end of 2017 until end of September 2018.^[48][49][50]

Music

The official theme song of the Games, "Meraih Bintang" ("Reach for the Stars"), was performed by Via Vallen. The song was included in a larger official album for the Games released 13 July 2018, featuring various Indonesian musicians.^[51]

As part of an effort to appeal to younger spectators, the Indonesian idol group JKT48 (a branch of the Japanese group AKB48) also sent teams to provide entertainment at the Games' venues during events.^[52][53]

Torch relay

Indonesian badminton legend Susi Susanti carried a torch fire during the Asian Games Torch Relay Concert in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

On 10 May 2018, 100 days before their opening, the Asian Games torch was unveiled. The design was inspired by the golok and skin — traditional weapons originating from Jakarta and Palembang.^[54]

The torch relay began at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi, host of the 1st Asian Games, on 15 July 2018. The flame was generated from a parabolic mirror directed straight at the sun.^[55] On 18 July 2018, a ceremony took place in Brahma field by the 9th century Hindu temple of Prambanan near Yogyakarta, where the torch's flame from India were fused together with an Indonesian natural eternal flame taken from Mrapen, Central Java. Subsequently, the Torch Relay Concert were performed marking the start of torch relay throughout the country.^[56]

The relay travelled through 54 cities in 18 provinces in Indonesia, including host cities. The relay covered a total distance of 18,000 kilometres (11,000 mi).^[57] The relay finished on 17 August, the 73rd anniversary of the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, at the National Monument in Jakarta before being carried into the opening ceremony at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium the next day.^[55]

Venues and infrastructures

Venues

For the Games, some venues were built, some were renovated, and prepared across four provinces in Indonesia: Jakarta, South Sumatra, Banten, and West Java. The facilities for the 2018 Asian Games were located in the capital city of Jakarta and Palembang (South Sumatra), in four different sports clusters (three in Jakarta and one in Palembang). However, 15 arenas for matches and 11 training arenas in West Java and Banten which shares border with Jakarta, were also used to support the Games.^[58] In total, there were 80 venues for competitions and training prepared.^[59] The organisation hopes to keep the cost down by using the existing sports facilities and infrastructure, including those venues built for the 2011 Southeast Asian Games,^[28] and after the test event of the 2018 Asian Games in February, INASGOC moved several sports that will be held in Jakarta International Expo to Jakarta Convention Center.^[60]

Jakarta

Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium hosted the ceremonies and athletics events.

The Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex in Jakarta hosted 13 events. The 56-year-old Main Stadium was refurbished for the Games, replacing its existing bleachers and seating with an all-seater design (reducing capacity to 76,127), and adding new LED lighting and sound systems among other enhancements.^{[61][62][63][64][65][66][67]}

The Jakarta International Velodrome at Rawamangun in East Jakarta was rebuilt, at a cost of US$40 million for cycling, badminton, futsal, basketball, and wrestling.^[68] The Jakarta International Equestrian Park at Pulomas underwent a US$30.8 million renovation, with a capacity of 1,000, 100 stables, lodging for athletes, and other amenities.^[69]

Palembang

Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium hosted the final of women's football

Jakabaring Sport City complex at Palembang hosted for other sports events. Several plans were raised to add and improve the facilities in the complex, including a capacity upgrade of Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium from 36,000 to 60,000 seats. This was cancelled later and instead the capacity was decreased to 23,000 after the instalment of individual seats to the entire stadium concrete tribunes along with pitch and other facilities improvements in the stadium.^[70] The new venue in Jakabaring Sports City was a 40-lane bowling alley which was completed in late May 2018.^[71] Eight additional tennis courts was built in the complex for the Games.^[72] The length of canoeing and rowing venue in Jakabaring Lake was extended to 2,300 meters along with rowing facilities and a tribune which was built on the lake shore.^[73] Other existing venues which was used for Games were also renovated, including Ranau Sports Hall as sepak takraw venue.^[74]

Athletes' Village

Athletes Village in Jakarta was built at Kemayoran on an area of 10 hectares land, which had 7,424 apartments in 10 towers. Total accommodation capacity of 22,272 at the village exceeded International Olympic Committee standards, which require Olympics hosts to provide rooms for at least 14,000 athletes. The Athletes Village inside the Jakabaring Sports City at Palembang housed 3,000 athletes and officials.^[75][76]

Transport

Ampera LRT Station, one of 13 stations of Palembang LRT

As part of the Games preparation, the construction of the Jakarta MRT and Jakarta LRT was accelerated, though neither were ready for general commercial operation at the time of the opening ceremonies.^[77] A line of Jakarta LRT connected the athletes' village at Kemayoran in Central Jakarta to the Velodrome at Rawamangun in East Jakarta. City bus operator TransJakarta added 416 buses to serve the officials,^[78] and also provide free rides on selected days during the Games.^[79]

Palembang upgraded their transportation facilities ahead for the Games by building 25 kilometres of the Palembang Light Rail Transit from Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport to Jakabaring Sports City which opened for public use in July 2018.^[80][81] Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport is expanding its existing arrival and departure terminals to increase its capacity and also connecting the airport with the light rail transit (LRT) terminal by building a skybridge.^[82] Other transportation facilities such as toll roads, flyovers, and bridges will be also built in and around the city.^[83]

The Games

Opening ceremony

Opening ceremony

Closing ceremony

The opening ceremony started at 19:00 Western Indonesian Time (UTC+7) on Saturday, 18 August 2018. Wishnutama, CEO of Indonesian TV network NET. was the creative director for the ceremony.^[84] The ceremony stage showcased a towering 26 meter-high mountain with a waterfall as its background, accompanied by Indonesian plants and flowers.^[85]North and South Korea delegates marched together under one unified flag of Korea, which marked the first time both countries did so in the Asian Games after 12 years.

The games was officially opened by the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo.^[85]

Sports

In March 2017, the Olympic Council of Asia initially announced that the Games would feature 484 events in 42 sports, including the 28 permanent Olympic sports contested at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the five additional sports that will be contested at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, as well as events in other non-Olympic sports.^[86] In April 2017, the OCA approved reductions in the programme in response to cost concerns; belt wrestling, cricket, kurash, skateboarding, sambo, and surfing were dropped from the programme, and there was to be a reduced number of competitions in bridge, jet ski, jujitsu, paragliding, sport climbing, taekwondo (in particular, all non-Olympic weight classes), and wushu. These changes reduced the total number of events to 431.^[87][88]

The final programme was unveiled in September 2017, increasing it to 465 events in 40 disciplines as the second-largest programme in Asian Games history.^[3] Additional disciplines being introduced at the 2020 Summer Olympics were also added, including 3x3 basketball and BMX freestyle.^[89]

For the first time in Asian Games history, eSports and canoe polo were contested as demonstration sports in the Games. Six video game titles, most notably Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, were featured in the eSports events.^[90][91]

Demonstration sports

• eSports


• Canoe polo

Participating National Olympic Committees

All 45 members of the Olympic Council of Asia participated in the games.^[92] North Korea and South Korea competed as a unified team in some events under the name "Korea" (COR), as they did at the 2018 Winter Olympics, making it the 46th participant of the Games. Both nations also marched together under one flag during the opening and closing ceremonies.^[93]

Originally set to compete as Independent Asian Athletes, the Kuwaitis were allowed to compete under their own flags just two days before the opening ceremony.^[94]

Below is a list of all the participating NOCs. The number of competitors per delegation is indicated in brackets.

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees (by highest to lowest)

IOC	Country	Athletes
INA	Indonesia	938
CHN	China	845
THA	Thailand	829
KOR	South Korea	807
JPN	Japan	762
TPE	Chinese Taipei	588
HKG	Hong Kong	580
IND	India	572
KAZ	Kazakhstan	440
MAS	Malaysia	426
IRI	Iran	378
VIE	Vietnam	352
PHI	Philippines	272
MGL	Mongolia	269
SGP	Singapore	265
PAK	Pakistan	245
UZB	Uzbekistan	232
QAT	Qatar	222
KGZ	Kyrgyzstan	211
NEP	Nepal	185
SRI	Sri Lanka	173
KSA	Saudi Arabia	169
PRK	North Korea	168
MDV	Maldives	146
LAO	Laos	142
UAE	United Arab Emirates	138
BAN	Bangladesh	117
MYA	Myanmar	112
TJK	Tajikistan	112
BRN	Bahrain	109
MAC	Macau	109
PLE	Palestine	88
SYR	Syria	73
TKM	Turkmenistan	72
TLS	East Timor	69
AFG	Afghanistan	65
COR	Korea	60
IRQ	Iraq	56
OMA	Oman	47
CAM	Cambodia	43
JOR	Jordan	35
YEM	Yemen	32
LBN	Lebanon	28
BHU	Bhutan	24
KUW	Kuwait	24
BRU	Brunei	15

Calendar

August/September		10 Fri	11 Sat	12 Sun	13 Mon	14 Tue	15 Wed	16 Thu	17 Fri	18 Sat	19 Sun	20 Mon	21 Tue	22 Wed	23 Thu	24 Fri	25 Sat	26 Sun	27 Mon	28 Tue	29 Wed	30 Thu	31 Fri	1 Sat	2 Sun	Events
Ceremonies										OC															CC	N/A
Archery													●	●	●	●	●	●	4	4						8
Artistic swimming																			●	1	1					2
Athletics																	4	11	7	7	9	10				48
Badminton											●	●	●	2	●	●	●	●	2	3						7
Baseball																		●	●	●		●	●	1		1
Basketball	5 x 5					●	●	●	●		●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	2		2
	3 x 3												●	●	●	●	●	2								2
Bowling														1	1	1	1	●	2							6
Boxing																●	●	●	●	●	●		●	10		10
Bridge													●	●	●	●	●	●	3	●	●	●	●	3		6
Canoeing	Slalom												●	2	2											4
	Sprint																				●	6	●	6		12
	Traditional boat race																2	2	1							5
Cycling	BMX (race)																2									2
	Mountain bike											2	2													4
	Road													1	1	2										4
	Track																		2	3	2	3	4			14
Diving																				2	2	2	2	2		10
Equestrian	Dressage											1	●		1											2
	Eventing															●	●	2								2
	Jumping																		●	1		1				2
Fencing											2	2	2	2	2	2										12
Field hockey											●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1		2
Football		●		●		●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		1	1		2
Golf															●	●	●	4								4
Gymnastics	Artistic											1	1	2	5	5										14
	Rhythmic																		1	1						2
	Trampoline																					2				2
Handball					●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●		●	●		●	●	●	1	1			2
Jet ski															●	1	2	1								4
Judo																					4	5	5	1		15
Jujitsu																3	3	2								8
Kabaddi											●	●	●	●	●	2										2
Karate																	4	4	4							12
Kurash																				3	2	2				7
Modern pentathlon																							1	1		2
Paragliding												●	●	2	2		●	●	●	●	2					6
Pencak silat															●	●	●	●	8		8					16
Roller sports	Roller skating																						2			2
	Skateboarding																			●	4					4
Rowing											●	●	●	●	8	7										15
Rugby sevens																						●	●	2		2
Sailing																●	●	●		●	●		10			10
Sambo																							2	2		4
Sepaktakraw											●	●	●	2	●	●	1	●	●	1	●	●	●	2		6
Shooting											2	4	3	2	2	3	2	2								20
Soft tennis																				●	2	1	●	2		5
Softball											●	●	●		●	1										1
Sports climbing															2	●	●	2	2							6
Squash															●	●	●	2	●	●	●	●	●	2		4
Swimming											7	7	7	8	6	6										41
Table tennis																		●	●	2	●	1	●	2		5
Taekwondo											4	3	3	2	2											14
Tennis											●	●	●	●	●	2	3									5
Triathlon																							1	1	1	3
Volleyball	Beach										●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1						2
	Indoor										●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	2		2
Water polo								●	●		●	●	1				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1		2
Weightlifting												2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2							15
Wrestling											5	5	4	4												18
Wushu											1	2	3	2	6											14
Daily medal events											21	29	28	33	42	37	26	36	39	29	36	34	30	44	1	465
Cumulative Total											21	50	78	111	153	190	216	252	291	320	356	390	420	464	465
Demonstration sports	Canoe polo																			●	●	2				2
	eSports																	1	1	●	1	1	1	1		6
August/September		10 Fri	11 Sat	12 Sun	13 Mon	14 Tue	15 Wed	16 Thu	17 Fri	18 Sat	19 Sun	20 Mon	21 Tue	22 Wed	23 Thu	24 Fri	25 Sat	26 Sun	27 Mon	28 Tue	29 Wed	30 Thu	31 Fri	1 Sat	2 Sun	Events