The 20th Asian Games opened in Japan's Nagoya city on Saturday with a glittering ceremony of dance and fireworks following a buildup marred by operational gaffes and logistical problems.
Five years after the Tokyo Olympics played out at empty venues due to COVID-19 restrictions, Japan welcomed fans to the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium for a curtain-raiser that was initially subdued before bursting into a festival of colour and sound.
Emperor Naruhito declared the Games open after watching the parade of 45 nations and regions at a dignitaries’ table along with International Olympic Committee boss Kirsty Coventry.
Naruhito’s visit with royal family members was accompanied by a heavy security operation. Organisers had said up to 10,000 police would be deployed for the ceremony.
“While the world is too often divided by conflict, they (the Asiad athletes) remind us that sport remains a powerful force for peace, understanding and friendship among nations,” Olympic Council of Asia President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani said in a speech.
Japan’s father-and-son duo of Shigenobu Murofushi and Koji Murofushi, both former Asian Games champions in hammer throw, jointly lit the cauldron after climbing a set of stairs at the end of the torch relay.
Organisers will hope the ceremony can draw a line under a rocky buildup laden with complaints from athletes and officials involving accommodation and transport.
Japan’s reputation for precision and efficiency has been under scrutiny as the nation welcomes more than 11,000 athletes competing for 369 gold medals in a whopping 43-sport programme.
Instead of building a dedicated Games village, organisers have housed the athletes and officials in a mix of hotel rooms, temporary wooden containers and a cruise ship docked in the bay as a cost-cutting measure.
Several national team delegations, including hosts Japan, have found the arrangements below par, complaining of mix-ups and double-bookings, while South Korea said the containers at Garden Pier were too cramped for their basketballers.
India’s powerful cricket board took matters into their own hands, arranging for the men’s star-studded cricket team to stay in a separate hotel due to a tight allocation of beds from organisers.
Delegations have also lamented long waits for the athletes registering on arrival and have found buses turning up late or sending their athletes to the wrong venues.
The Olympic Council of Asia, which runs the quadrennial Games, acknowledged the problems on Saturday but played them down as teething difficulties.
Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, the opening ceremony made a low-key start, with classical music and dance on a heart-shaped stage before the parade of nations which featured a delegation from reclusive North Korea.
The spectacle ramped up later though, with dancers in boiler suits marking Nagoya’s manufacturing tradition and a fireworks display closing the night.
The ceremony’s theme was “Harmonic Heart Beat” — intended to communicate Asian solidarity at an event often riven by geopolitical tension and historic grudges.
However, hopes for a peaceful Games have already been undermined by several incidents.
Taiwan’s delegation temporarily refused to participate in their welcoming ceremony on Friday after sports minister and former Olympic champion Lee Yang was blocked from attending it.
The South Korean men’s hockey team were upset when North Korea’s national anthem was played at the stadium before a match instead of their own.
While competitions for basketball, soccer and other sports have already started, the first gold medal will be won on Sunday, likely in the triathlon.
A high-class swimming competition kicks off in Tokyo on Sunday, with the programme featuring China’s 100 metres freestyle world-record holder Pan Zhanle and 13-year-old sensation Yu Zidi.
Apart from traditional Olympic sports, the Games will stage regional favourites kabaddi and sepak takraw along with quirky, modern events.
Esports will award medals again after making its debut at Hangzhou, while teqball, a mix of table tennis and soccer, and “virtual taekwondo” will make their first appearance at the Games.