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.^[8][11] In February 2023, the cost was reported to have ballooned to ¥140.5 billion ($927 million).^[12] In September 2026, the cost had risen to ¥370 billion ($2.4 billion). Aichi Prefecture governor Hideaki Ōmura named the weakening value of the yen since 2021, geopolitical instability and rising prices for resources as contributors to the heightened budget. He highlighted that relying on a cruise ship and temporary accommodation for the athletes’ village and prioritising existing venues helped save ¥100 billion.^[13]

Athletes' Village

The Aichi–Nagoya Organising Committee originally intended to construct an athletes' village on the former site of the Nagoya Racecourse in Minato-ku, Nagoya, but decided not to due to high construction material costs and to avoid the development becoming a white elephant post-Games.^[14] Instead, they chose to have several athletes' villages spread across the prefecture. Around 4,000 to 5,000 athletes were hosted in the Costa Serena cruise ship docked at the Kinjo Pier.^[15][16][17] 2,000 athletes were 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 were housed in several hotels across the prefecture and outlying cities.^[18][19][20] For example, athletes that were competing in swimming and diving resided at the Tokyo Bay Shiomi Prince Hotel.^[21]

Because the Games are taking 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.^[22] Record-breaking torrential rain hit Nagoya on 8 September 2026, 2 days before the start of competitions, causing widespread flash flooding.^[23][24] Several hundred athletes housed in temporary structures in the port area of the city were told to evacuate by officials. While leaking roofs were observed at some venues, no major damage was reported.^[25][26] Nagoya city mayor Ichirō Hirosawa ruled out any major disruption to the Games as a result of the floods, however a special event featuring SKE48 was cancelled due to the inclement weather.^[27]

Venues

In addition to Nagoya, several events 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, making the first-ever decentralized venues in history.^[6] 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.^[28] 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.^[29][30]

Hisaya Ōdori Park and Oasis 21 host a fan zone, celebration and cultural exchange hub during both Asian and Asian Para Games, known as One Asia World. It was inspired by the Champions Park at Jardins du Trocadéro that was held during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.^[31]

Torch relay

The torch relay began on 18 August with a flame-lighting event in front of the 1958 Asian Games and 1964 Summer Olympics legacy cauldron near the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo. Another flame-lighting event was held on 20 August at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, host of the 1994 Games. The main relay ran from 22 August to 18 September, concluding the day before the opening ceremony. Both flames were united through the use of a concave mirror, and the relay started at Nagoya Castle, passing across 40 municipalities of Aichi Prefecture and all 16 wards of Nagoya.^[32] 1,000 torchbearers took part.^[33][34][35] The torch design, as well as the relay routes were unveiled on 11 June, 100 days until the opening ceremony.^[36][37][38] There was also a torch relay for school children held from 7 to 15 September involving 14 schools.^[34]

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held on 19 September 2026 at 18:00 to 20:00 JST (UTC+09:00) at Paloma Mizuho Stadium.^[39] Its theme is "Harmonic Heart Beat",^[40] and Japanese filmmaker Yukihiko Tsutsumi was appointed as the creative director of the ceremonies.^[41] It was attended and opened by the Emperor of Japan Naruhito alongside president of the International Olympic Committee Kirsty Coventry.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony will be held on 4 October 2026 at 18:00 to 19:30 JST (UTC+09:00) at Paloma Mizuho Stadium.^[39] It will include a cultural presentation, closing remarks, and the formal handover to Doha, Qatar, as hosts of next edition in 2030 for the second time since 2006.

Sports

The 2026 Asian Games includes 469 medal events in 43 sports,^[42] a decrease of 12 events over Hangzhou 2022; Freestyle BMX, mixed martial arts, padel, surfing, teqball and virtual taekwondo made their Asian Games debut.

In April 2025, the organising 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.^[43] In December 2025, OCA approved the inclusion of padel and teqball to the programme, with all costs covered by the respective international federations of the sport.^[44] Later in June 2026, the OCA approved the inclusion of virtual taekwondo to the programme, making it the first-ever virtual sport event.^[45]

• 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 programme:

1. Breaking
2. Skateboarding
3. Surfing

• Three sports and disciplines proposed by the organising committee:

1. Baseball
2. Softball
3. Karate

• Seven sports and disciplines proposed by the Olympic Council of Asia:

1. Cricket^[43]
2. Esports^[47][48]
3. Mixed martial arts^[49]
4. Padel^[50][51]
5. Squash^[52]
6. Teqball^[53]
7. Virtual taekwondo

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.^[57]

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.^[58]

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

Music

The official theme song for the Games, "Beyond the Sky", performed by INI, was released on 5 August 2026; It was also created as a fight song for all athletes.^[60][61] The second official song for the games, "Love Beat", performed by Kana Nishino featuring Japanese girl group NiziU.^{[citation needed]}

Host broadcasters

Rights holding broadcasters

Organisational issues during preparation

In December 2024, reports emerged of tensions between the Olympic Council of Asia and the organising committee.^[94] The OCA was reportedly unimpressed with the pace at which the organising committee was preparing for the Games and demanded improvements in more than 10 areas, including transportation and accommodation. Insider sources also said that the Aichi-Nagoya organising committee was in danger of breaching the host city contract and the OCA was looking to terminate it unless substantial improvements were made.^[95][96]

On 11 April 2025, French event management firm GL events [fr] was awarded the contract to deliver the 2026 Asian Games and Asian Para Games.^[97] A Japanese firm was not given the contract owing to corruption and bid-rigging scandals by Dentsu at the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, as well as the Expo 2025 in Osaka.^[98][99] The appointment of GL events had attracted controversy from the beginning and the company almost immediately ran into problems, with several key documents and processes not being finalised until as late as October 2025, more than three months overdue.^[100][101]

At the time it was awarded, the contract was estimated to be worth around ¥63 billion ($414 million), however added debts and organisational delays caused the deficit to increase to just over ¥81 billion ($510 million) within the space of a few months.^[102] Professor Kyoko Kida of Chukyo University attributed the organisational failures before and during the Games to a lack of involvement by Japanese companies when contracts were initially awarded. She also pointed out that the Aichi-Nagoya organising committee was composed mostly of government and prefectural officials, the majority of whom had vanishingly little experience in organising major international events.^[103]

Exceeded athlete and official quota

The organising committee originally budgeted 15,000 athletes and officials to enter the Games. Due to an increased number of added events which were mandated by the Olympic Council of Asia, the number has been reportedly exceeded by upwards of 2,000, with the revised figure put at around 17,000—roughly 11,000 athletes and 6,000 officials.^[104] The governor of Aichi Prefecture, Hideaki Ōmura, stated that arrangements and budgets based on the host city's contract would not be able to accommodate more than 15,000, saying organisers had "neither the manpower nor the budget" to make arrangements for the additional participants.^[104] Organisers had asked the OCA to keep athlete and officials numbers below the original limit, and late additions were told to arrange their own accommodation.^[105][106]

On 19 August 2026, a month before the opening ceremony, the competition schedule was modified in line with reducing athlete numbers, which resulted in the cancellation and rescheduling of some events, leading to confusion from athletes and sports organisations, and already purchased tickets by spectators being voided.^[107]

On 28 August 2026, AINAGOC and the OCA jointly released a statement to clear up the "incorrect media reports", stating that the number of athletes and officials was changing on a daily basis, and the final number has not been determined. All athletes and officials that had registered by the July deadline will be provided with Games-appropriate accommodation. In addition, it was decided that some officials would be allowed to arrange their own accommodation through their respective NOC.^[108][109]

Athlete accommodation issues

Several athletes and officials have complained about the wooden villas where some are staying at the Port of Nagoya Garden Wharf. Vice president of the Korea Basketball Association, Jung Jae-yong, said that the compact nature of the villas doesn't allow taller athletes to "stretch their legs out on the beds". Byeon Jun-hyeong, who is a part of South Korea men's basketball team roster, had a leaking sink and soaked floor in his villa, shown through a video he posted on their social media. Jung also said that organisers have not responded to any concerns raised.^[110][111] Reports specified that the standard bed length in the container-style units was around 195 centimetres, which several delegations said was inadequate for taller athletes, alongside complaints of cramped shower spaces.^[112] Aichi Prefecture governor Ōmura stated the accommodation arrangements to be "functional", saying organisers were responding to individual complaints as they arose and would continue to improve conditions, while maintaining that the priority for those housed aboard the Costa Serena was athlete safety.^[113][114]

Organisers bypassed a traditional centralized Athletes' Village. Instead, they are utilizing local hotels, temporary container-style wooden cabins, and the Costa Serena cruise ship.^[115] A surge in registrations to over 17,000 participants (well over the budgeted 15,000) has left housing extremely tight, and the passengers sparked anger over the athletes participation.^[116][117] Director general of the OCA Husain Al-Musallam's statement at a press conference about the Athletes' Village issues, but doing so would have left them with a white elephant after the curtain comes down on the multi-sport event.^[118]

Some delegations also faced issues when registering upon arrival at their accommodations. In one such case, an athlete and two coaches from the Indian wushu team arrived at the cruise ship to discover that their names were not listed on the accommodation records, leading to a two hour delay.^[119] The Malaysian and Vietnamese delegations also complained of lengthy procedures when checking in to their accommodation.^[120] Accommodation manager Yuta Matsuo acknowledged the issues teams were facing and stated that the organising committee was "already taking concrete steps to improve the environment for the athletes, including their living conditions during their stay".^[121]

In a separate incident, Indian gymnast Pranati Nayak and her coach Ashok Mishra were mistakenly allotted the same cabin aboard the Costa Serena upon arrival, raising concerns over mixed-gender room allocation; the Indian Olympic Association intervened and separate accommodation was arranged at around 1:30 am, though a further clerical error—a missing letter in Mishra's name—meant his new booking could not initially be located in the ship's register.^[122][123]

Cricket facilities and Indian accommodation issues

At the end of August 2026, representatives of several members of the Asian Cricket Council raised concerns over the cricket venue; Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin. Most complained about the lack of proper dressing rooms and the pitch not being readied for competition.^[124]

Organisers moved to ease concerns over a potential accommodation crunch by confirming that lodging has been arranged for more than 17,000 athletes and officials registered for the event. The official statement also came days after it was reported that even the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was upset with the facilities for the cricketers. An ANI report claimed that the Indian board was contemplating sending a 'B' team if the facilities are not improved.^[125]

Diplomatic and political issues

On 14 September 2026, a ceremony was held at Kintaicho Port to commemorate the docking of the Costa Serena cruise. One of the performances featured three performers dressed as historical figures symbolising Japan's Sengoku period: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu referred to as the "Three Outstanding Men of Nagoya".^[126] This prompted criticism from the South Korean delegation, because of Hideyoshi involvement in Imjin War. The organising committee insisted that there was no intent to cause offence or push political messages, however South Korea's chef-de-mission warned that the delegation would "make clear its position regarding parts where political issues intervene in sports".^[127][128]

Prior to a men's field hockey match on 18 September 2026 between Bangladesh and South Korea, the national anthem of North Korea was mistakenly played instead of the South Korean anthem.^[129] The stadium announcer apologised a short time later upon realising the mistake.^[130] The organising committee later sent the South Korean team a written apology for the incident, describing it as a "major human error" and setting out the steps it would take to prevent recurrences, such as having multiple staff members check the system before anthems are played.^[131] A day later, at a Hong Kong–South Korea women's handball match, no anthem was played for either team, which left both teams confused.^[132]

On 18 September 2026, the Chinese Taiéi delegation refused to take part in their flag-raising ceremony in protest after Taiwan's sports minister Lee Yang was barred from taking part.^[133] The OCA stated that the flag-raising ceremonies were intended for athletes and team officials only and government ministers were not permitted to attend.^[134] Lee was eventually granted permission to attend the ceremony, causing it to be delayed by an hour.^[135]

On 25 September 2026, during a baseball match between Taiwan and China, political tensions over Taiwan's identification at Olympic-affiliated events resurfaced after a spectator was asked to put away a towel bearing the word "Taiwan," saying it violated the Asian Games' ban on political messages. The fan complained, but several spectators who witnessed the interaction began chanting "Team Taiwan" in protest, according to a video of the incident.^[136] A sign was placed outside the venue prohibiting the display of the Taiwanese flag and the Rising Sun flag, however some spectators changed clothes after entering the stadium or smuggled flags in despite the ban.^[137]

Transport problems

On 16 September 2026, there was widespread system disruption which prevented delegations from taking the chartered shuttle buses from Chubu Centrair International Airport to their accommodations. Almost all of the Chinese gymnastics team was stranded at the airport due to issues with the system, preventing the team from boarding their scheduled shuttle bus.^[138] Athletes from China, South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand were left to sleep on the floor of the nearby Aichi Sky Expo as a result of their records going missing from the system and issues with the shuttle buses.^[139]

Meanwhile, teams from India and South Korea complained of significant disruption to Games transportation. On 16 September 2026, South Korea's under-23 football team arrived to a recovery training session 20 minutes later than expected as there was no bus scheduled to take them there, leaving organisers scrambling to find a replacement.^[140] The previous day, the driver of the team's bus mistakenly took the team to the baseball venue, causing the team to arrive at their competition venue 30 minutes later than scheduled.^[141] India's shooting team raised concerns over lengthy commutes to and from Games venues and accommodation, with a journey from the athletes' village to the shooting venue in Toyota taking as long as 2 hours and up to 50 kilometres (30 miles) apart.^[142]

After a baseball game in a rural area, functionally the only available transport option back to the city for spectators was a shuttle bus service that only arrived every 15 minutes. Footage showed thousands of people waiting in line late at night. One interviewee claimed to have waited over an hour to board.^[143]

On 28 September, the official bus carried the Pakistan men's national volleyball team went to the wrong venue. This incident caused their group game with Uzbekistan to be delayed by 45 minutes.^[144]

Ticket sales and local reception

Local enthusiasm ahead of the Games was reported as muted, with data compiled by the organising committee as of 7 September showing that, of 41 ticketed sports, ten events—including football, baseball/softball, field hockey and cricket—had sold under 60 percent of available tickets. Governor Ōmura said sales were going "fairly well" overall, particularly for marquee events, but acknowledged that lesser-known sports had struggled to draw local interest.^[145] Journalists covering the opening ceremony noted the large number of empty seats at the stadium, despite organisers previously claiming that tickets for the event had sold out.^[146][147]

Director general of the OCA Husain Al-Musallam later cited typhoon warnings in Japan on the day of the ceremony and restrictions on where audience members could sit as factors for the low attendance. Secretary general of the organising committee Satoshi Murate insisted that over 90% of tickets for the ceremony had been sold, but blamed the empty seats on no-shows.^[148][149]

Empty seats remained an issue throughout the Games. The women's football semi-final between Japan and South Korea at Shizuoka Stadium was played to a crowd of just 998 spectators, despite the stadium having the capacity for around 50,000 people. A match earlier in the tournament between China and Hong Kong at Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium had an audience of just 179 people.^[150] Director general of the organising committee Takaaki Osami attributed low audience numbers in some events to spectators purchasing tickets for whole sessions, but only arriving and staying when Japanese athletes were scheduled to appear, causing discrepancies in the number of seats being filled.^[151] Director of ticketing Takashi Yamazaki admitted in a press conference on 30 September that the number of empty seats in venues was "disappointing" and blamed poor weather and a lack of enthusiasm from the public as reasons for the high numbers of vacant seats. He added that ticket sales usually surge in the latter period of an event, however that has not been the case on this occasion.^[152]

Doping

Thai badminton player Pitchamon Opatniputh became the first known doping case of the Games after testing positive for the banned diuretic furosemide.^[153] The ITA said in its official statement that Pitchamon had been notified of an apparent anti-doping rule violation. Her provisional suspension took immediate effect pending resolution of Acting on behalf of the case.^[154] Uzbek martial artist Nodirbek Shavkatov, a bronze medalist in mixed martial arts, also tested positive for meldonium, making him the first medalist to fail a drug test.^[155]

Judging controversies

On 21 September 2026, following the women's traditional 60kg mixed martial arts semi-finals, Indian fighter Suchika Tariyal was criticised for unsportsman behaviour for refusing to shake the hand of her competitor, Singaporean Tiffany Teo, after losing in a controversial tiebreaker match.^[156] The bout ended in a draw after the second period resulting in a one minute extra time period, during which Tariyal managed to get Teo down just as the buzzer sounded. Both athletes initially celebrated afterwards, however the referee ruled in Teo's favour.^[157]

India lodged a controversial challenge which saw the result for the second period declared a draw with the winner being determined based on each athlete's weigh-in that morning, which Teo also won. Tariyal was visibly upset by the decision and did not initially shake hands with her opponent or the referee, only doing so after being consoled by her coach.^[158][159] She eventually took the bronze medal in that event, India's first ever Asian Games medal in mixed martial arts. Teo later took gold, Singapore's first gold medal of the Games.^[160][161]