2026 Asian Games

Costs

The city of Nagoya received an estimate of roughly ¥85 billion ($560 million) in costs from the Aichi Prefecture government for the Games, 30% of which is expected to be covered by sponsorships and other revenue, while the remainder is planned to be split on a 70–30 basis between Nagoya and Aichi Prefecture.^[6][9] In February 2023, the cost was reported to have ballooned to ¥140.5 billion ($927 million).^[10]

Athletes Village

The Aichi–Nagoya Organising Committee decided not to construct a permanent athletes village due to high costs, and instead chose to have several athletes villages spread across the prefecture. 4,000 athletes will be hosted in the Costa Serena cruise ship docked at Kinjo Pier.^[11][12][13] Other athletes will be hosted in temporary wooden villas styled after shipping containers at the Port of Nagoya Garden Wharf, which will be reused as disaster response units and tourist lodging after the Games. The rest of the athletes will be housed in several hotels across the prefecture and outlying cities.^[14][15][16]

Because the Games will take place towards the end of the pacific typhoon season, organisers have put in place several contingency plans if athletes were to be evacuated from the cruise ship due to tsunamis, typhoons or other natural disasters.^[17]

Transportation and logistics

The Aichi–Nagoya Organising Committee is in the process of formulating a comprehensive transport plan that will include specific routes, coordination with transport service providers, and operational preparations for arrival/departure, opening/closing ceremonies, and daily movements to competition venues. They aim to leverage existing infrastructure and technology to provide efficient and comfortable transportation during the Games.

In principle, spectators are expected to rely on public transport. Aichi and Nagoya have an extensive public transportation network, including:

• Trains: JR lines (Tokaido Shinkansen, Tokaido Main Line, Chuo Main Line, etc.), Kintetsu Railway, Meitetsu, and various other local rail lines.
• Subway: The Nagoya Municipal Subway has a comprehensive subway system with six lines.
• Buses: Numerous private and public bus companies operate throughout the region, complementing the rail services.
• Shuttle Buses: If necessary, shuttle buses between competition venues and the nearest public transport stations will be considered to aid spectator movement.
• Travel Demand Management: Measures to curb private cars use around Games-related facilities, such as public announcements, will be implemented to ensure smooth transportation and maintain urban order.

Venues

In addition to Nagoya, events will be spread across cities across Aichi Prefecture, and some venues in the Greater Tokyo Area that also hosted events during the 2020 Summer Olympics, as well as Gifu, Osaka and Shizuoka prefectures.^[4] Cycling events are scheduled to be held at the Izu Velodrome in Izu, Shizuoka. Some aquatic events were originally scheduled to be held at the Rainbow Pool, but with less than three years to go, OCA pointed out that the facilities did not meet World Aquatics' regulations.^[18] After discussions, it was decided to move the swimming events to the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, and the equestrian events to the Tokyo Equestrian Park; water polo was also moved to the Nippon Gaishi Hall's Rainbow Pool.^[19][20]

Venues for padel and teqball are to be determined in the future.

Torch relay

The torch relay is set to begin in August, and is expected to pass through all 40 municipalities of Aichi Prefecture.^[21] The torch design will be unveiled on 11 June, 100 days untill the opening ceremony.^[22]

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony will be held on 19 September 2026 at Paloma Mizuho Stadium. Both ceremonies will be produced by Chinese firm Dafeng Industry^[23], and Japanese filmmaker Yukihiko Tsutsumi was appointed as the creative director of the ceremonies.^[24]

Sports

Freestyle BMX, mixed martial arts, padel, surfing and teqball will make their Asian Games debut.

32 sports from the 2024 Summer Olympics + 15 other sports and disciplines.

• Five regional sports that were nominated by each region of the Olympic Council of Asia:

1. Wushu (East Asia)
2. Sepak takraw (Southeast Asia)
3. Kabaddi (South Asia)
4. Kurash (Central Asia)
5. Jujitsu (West Asia)

• Three sports that were part of the 2024 Summer Olympics and are not part of the core Asian Games program:

1. Dancesport (Breakdancing)
2. Roller sports (Skateboarding)
3. Surfing

• Five sports proposed by the organising committee or the Olympic Council of Asia:

1. Cricket^[26]
2. Esports^[27][28]
3. Mixed martial arts^[29]
4. Padel^[30][31]
5. Teqball^[32]

A final decision on the inclusion of cricket was scheduled for 2025, with the Asian Cricket Council having pushed for the bid and then OCA President Randhir Singh was "hopeful" for it. Its inclusion would act as the Asian qualifiers event for the 2028 Summer Olympics.^{[33][34][35][36]} On 28 April, the organizing committee approved the inclusion of cricket and mixed martial arts to the programme, following a request from OCA. In addition, open water swimming was removed from the programme.^[26]

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony will be held on 4 October 2026 in Paloma Mizuho Stadium; it will include a cultural presentation, closing remarks, and the formal handover to Doha, Qatar, as hosts of next edition in 2030.

Emblem

The emblem of the Games was unveiled during a ceremony on 1 April 2020. Each colour has its own meaning, with purple representing the iris laevigata, gold for Shachihoko, the golden tiger-fish roof ornaments which are the symbol of Nagoya Castle, and green representing environmental consciousness.^[38]

Mascot

The mascot of the Games, Honohon (Japanese: ホノホン) was unveiled on 14 July 2024. Its design is based on the shachihoko.^[39]

Motto

The official motto of the 2026 Asian Games, "Imagine One Asia" was announced on 1 April 2020 to mark six years before the opening ceremony.^[1]

Corporate sponsorship