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2014 Asian Games
Bid process Venues Torch relay Mascot Music album Opening ceremony Medal table Concerns and controversies Closing ceremony Event calendar Asian Para Games

The 2014 Asian Games, officially known as the XVII Asiad, is a multi-sport event celebrated in Incheon, South Korea from September 19 – October 4, 2014,^[1] with 439 events in 36 sports and disciplines set to feature in the Games.

Incheon was awarded the right on April 17, 2007, defeating Delhi, India to host the Games. Incheon is the third city in South Korea after Seoul (1986) and Busan (2002) to host the Asian Games.

Organisation

Bidding

2014 Asian Games bidding results
City	Country	Votes
Incheon	South Korea	32
Delhi	India	13

Two cities were bidding for the Games, as Delhi (India) and Incheon (South Korea) made a formal bid on December 2, 2006 in Doha, Qatar.^[2]

The vote was held on April 17, 2007 at the Marriot Hotel in Kuwait City, Kuwait, during the OCA's general assembly. During the final presentation prior to voting, Incheon made a new offer, raising USD$20 million funds to support the countries that are yet to win a medal in the Games. It also offered free flight tickets and accommodation to all the participants, while India did not make any changes to its offer.^[3][4] All 45 members voted, with voting held in secret ballot. Around 4 p.m. local time, it was announced that Incheon won the rights. ^[5] Though the vote results were not released, it was revealed that Incheon won by 32–13.^[6]

It was widely felt that Delhi's lack of enthusiasm to host the event was the primary reason for its loss. Then Union Sports Minister of India, Mani Shankar Aiyar, spoke strongly against Delhi hosting the games and argued that it was better if the money allocated by India's government for organizing the sporting event was spent on building facilities for the poor.^[7] The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president revealed that India's Sports Minister remarks against hosting the Games was the main reason for New Delhi's loss.^[8] The IOA delegation also added that the bids evaluation committee was concerned about pollution and traffic in Delhi.^[9] Delhi offering US$200,000 to each team for games support against Incheon's offer of US$20 million to all 45 nations participating in the event could also have contributed to the defeat.^[3]

Slogan

Unveiled on September 16, 2010, "Diversity Shines Here" is the official slogan of the Games. It represents and highlights the significance of Asia’s wonderful diversity in history, cultures, and religions.^[10]

Marketing

Three Spotted seal siblings was unveiled on November 4, 2010 as official mascot of the Games in Songdo Island, Incheon. The three seals, known as "Barame(바라메)", "Chumuro(추므로)" and "Vichuon(비추온)", means wind, dance and light in Korean language, is in accordance with the theme of main venue. The prototype was taken from Baengnyeong Island. According to the organisers, the mascot was chosen as symbolic to the future peace between South Korea and North Korea.^[11]

The official emblem also unveiled on same day, represent by a huge wing consisting of a string of "A", the first letter of "Asia", with a shining sun at its upper left, it symbolising the Asian people holding hands in the sky.^[11]

Official poster of was released on March 31, 2011. The six posters, was designed after categorising the 28 Olympic sports into five groups to represent the philosophy and values of the Games. The five groups are racquet sports, ball sports, water sports, athletic sports and weight class.^[12][13]

On September 27, 2012, Swiss watchmaker company Tissot was named as the official timekeeper of the Games.^[14]

The official album was released by Universal Music was released on June 20, 2014, which featured "Only One", performed by JYJ as the official theme song of the Games.^[15][16]

Medals

The medals design was approved by OCA on August 19, 2013. It features the pentagon-shaped symbol representing the five ports of Incheon — Airport, Seaport, Teleport, Leisureport and Businessport, with emblem of Games inside. It symbolises the city as the hub of Northeast Asia.^[17]

Costs

The cost of the Games was estimated at approximately US$1.62 billion, with the Korean government and Incheon government covering 19% and 78.9% respectively. Of the total budget, some US$1.39 billion will be used for the construction of venue and infrastructure, while approximately US$11 million will cover the building and maintenance of training grounds. Around US$103 million will be used for road and transportation projects.^[18]

However, report in April 2012 suggests the city is under pressure on its financial due to uprising debt.^[19]

The IAGOC is expected to save US$34 million after agreeing to reduce from 15,000 to 2,025 athletes to be provided free of charge for transportation and accommodation.^[20]

Venues

There are 49 competition venues and 48 training facilities that will be used during the Games. Among the 49 competition venues, ten venues featured in six cities of Gyeonggi Province while another two featured in Chungju and Seoul. The rest of the venues featured in eight district and a county inside the metropolitan city of Incheon. Ten venues were constructed for the Games.^[21] The Games also consist athletes and media villages that provide over 3,300 units and 9,560 rooms for athletes and media persons.^[21]

The main stadium, known as Incheon Asiad Main Stadium, has an all-seater capacity of 61,074 seats, with 30,000 seats are variable after the Games.^[18][22] The US$400 million stadium, who originally planned for 70,000 seats was designed by Populous, who has also designed several event venues around the world, including the Olympic Stadium of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 28, 2011 in Yeonhui-dong, with construction beginning in June 2011 and expected to finish in April 2014.^[23][24]

Transport

Incheon Subway's construction period was shortened rather than planned 2018 completion.^[19] Due to the increasing popularity of Incheon International Airport during the Games, the immigration procedures were improved to convenience the passengers.^[25]

Torch relay

The torch was revealed in October 2013, with the design motif is based on the official bird of Incheon Metropolitan City, the Crane, with the blue internal cylinder of torch signifying the sky and the ocean of Incheon. Another four colors (green, yellow, red, violet) were designed to represent the five regions of Asia.^[26]

The torch was lit at Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi, India on August 9, 2014. This marked the first time the torch was lit outside the host country.^[27] For the first time also, the Games hosted by South Korea's city to have international torch relay as Weihai, a city in Shandong province of the People's Republic of China, was only the another city hosted the torch relay on August 12, 2014.^[28][29]

The domestic lighting ceremony was held at Manisan on Ganghwa Island on August 12, 2014.^[30] The domestic relay begin from August 13, 2014 and travel through 70 cities for 5,700 km until the opening ceremony.^[31]

Calendar

In the following calendar for the 2014 Asian Games, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport were held, which numeric representing the number of finals that were contested on that day. On the left the calendar lists each sport with events held during the Games, and at the right how many gold medals were won in that sport. There is a key at the top of the calendar to aid the reader.^[32]

OC

Opening ceremony

●

Event competitions

1

Gold medal events

CC

Closing ceremony

September/October		14th Sun	15th Mon	16th Tue	17th Wed	18th Thu	19th Fri	20th Sat	21st Sun	22nd Mon	23rd Tue	24th Wed	25th Thu	26th Fri	27th Sat	28th Sun	29th Mon	30th Tue	1st Wed	2nd Thu	3rd Fri	4th Sat	Events
Ceremonies							OC															CC	—
Aquatics	Artistic swimming							1	●	1	1												53
	Diving																2	2	2	2	2
	Swimming								6	6	7	7	6	6
	Water polo							●	●	●	1	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1
Archery											●	●	●	●	4	4							8
Athletics															5	8	7	4	11	11	1		47
Badminton								●	●	1	1	●	●	●	1	2	2						7
Baseball	Baseball								●	●	●	●	●		●	1							2
	Softball														●	●	●		●	1
Basketball								●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	1	1		2
Bowling											1	1	1	1	●	2	●	4	●	2			12
Boxing											●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	3	●	10		13
Canoeing	Slalom																		●	4			16
	Sprint														●	●	12
Cricket								●	●	●	●	●	●	1	●	●	●	●	●	●	1		2
Cycling	BMX																		2				18
	Mountain biking																	2
	Road cycling														2	1	1
	Track cycling							2	2	1	1	1	3
Equestrian								1	●		1	●	●	2		1		1					6
Fencing								2	2	2	2	2	2										12
Football		●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	1	1			2
Golf													●	●	●	4							4
Gymnastics	Artistic								1	1	2	5	5										18
	Rhythmic																		1	1
	Trampolining													2
Handball								●	●	●		●	●	●		●	●	●	1	1			2
Field hockey								●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	1	1			2
Judo								4	5	5	2												16
Kabaddi																●	●	●	●	●	2		2
Karate																				5	5	3	13
Modern pentathlon																				2	2		4
Rowing								●	●	●	●	7	7										14
Rugby sevens																		●	●	2			2
Sailing												●	●	●	●	●	●	●	14				14
Sepak takraw								●	●	2	●	●	●	●	●	2	●	●	●	●	2		6
Shooting								4	4	4	4	4	10	6	6		●	2					44
Soft tennis																	●	2	1	2	●	2	7
Squash								●	●	●	2	●	●	●	2								4
Table tennis															●	●	●	2	●	●	3	2	7
Taekwondo																		4	4	4	4		16
Tennis								●	●	●	●	2	●	●	●	●	3	2					7
Triathlon													2	1									3
Volleyball	Beach volleyball							●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1						4
	Indoor volleyball							●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1
Weightlifting								2	2	2	2	2	2	3									15
Wrestling															4	4	4	4	4				20
Wushu								2	2	2	2	7											15
Daily medal events								18	24	27	29	38	38	22	24	30	32	29	46	41	34	7	439
Cumulative Total								18	42	69	98	136	174	196	220	250	282	311	357	398	432	439
September/October		14th Sun	15th Mon	16th Tue	17th Wed	18th Thu	19th Fri	20th Sat	21st Sun	22nd Mon	23rd Tue	24th Wed	25th Thu	26th Fri	27th Sat	28th Sun	29th Mon	30th Tue	1st Wed	2nd Thu	3rd Fri	4th Sat	Total events

Games

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was started at 18:00 local time on September 19, 2014. The performance was directed by the film director Im Kwon-taek with playwright and actor Jang Jin, with entertainer Kim Seong-ju and KBS emcee Yun Su-yeong are the host of the ceremony.^[33][34] It was attended by President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, President of International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, Tokyo Governor Yōichi Masuzoe and also Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok.^[33]

Lead the stories is actors Chang Dong-geon and Kim Soo-hyun, with performance covered in four acts, from "Asia long time ago", "Asia meeting through the sea", "Asia as family and friends", and "Asia as one and future joining with today", displayed the Korea past and future with digital technology. Other performers include Chinese pianist Lang Lang, soprano Sumi Jo,^[35] and Psy, which wrap up the ceremony with Gangnam Style.^[36]

Actress Lee Young-ae was lighted the cauldron, in contrast which athlete more often chosen as torch lighter.^[37]

Sports

The 2014 Games is scheduled to feature the 28 Olympic sports which will be contested at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In addition, eight non-Olympic sports will be featured: baseball, ten-pin bowling, cricket, kabaddi, karate, sepak takraw, squash and wushu. The list was finalised on December 9, 2010 at the OCA's executive board meeting in Muscat, Oman.^[38][39] This resulted in six other sports: roller sport, board games (chess, go, xiangqi), cue sports, softball, dancesport and dragon boat, which were held in previous Games being dropped from the list.^[40] The list was approved on July 13, 2011 during the 30th annual general assembly in Tokyo as softball incorporated with baseball as one sport while soft tennis is under the discipline of tennis.^[41] For the first time, compound archery, mixed relay triathlon, judo team events were introduced.^[42][43]

The changes in the non-Olympic sports featured at the Asian Games were influenced by discussions with organizers, who had suggested the removal of cricket from the program because they felt too few countries played it, and because they lacked infrastructure to host it. However, the OCA disputed the proposed removal of cricket, citing its popularity and viewer interest.^[44]

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony will be held at 18:00 local time on October 4, 2014 in Incheon Asiad Main Stadium.^[45]

Medal table

The top ten listed NOCs by number of gold medals are listed below. The host nation, South Korea, is highlighted.

  *   Host nation (South Korea)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China (CHN)	151	109	85	345
2	South Korea (KOR)*	79	70	79	228
3	Japan (JPN)	47	77	76	200
4	Kazakhstan (KAZ)	28	23	33	84
5	Iran (IRI)	21	18	18	57
6	Thailand (THA)	12	7	28	47
7	North Korea (PRK)	11	11	14	36
8	India (IND)	11	9	37	57
9	Chinese Taipei (TPE)	10	18	23	51
10	Qatar (QAT)	10	0	4	14
11–37	Remaining	59	97	179	335
Totals (37 entries)		439	439	576	1454

Participating nations

All 45 members of the Olympic Council of Asia participated, this including North Korea, despite threat to boycott after dispute with South Korea over the terms of hosting delegation of athletes and officials.^[46] Saudi Arabia is the sole NOC not to send female athletes to the Games.^[47]

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

Controversies

Honorary ambassadors dropped from set-list

The honorary ambassadors of the Games, Korean group JYJ, were reportedly dropped from the opening and closing ceremonies and were relegated to perform in the pre-opening ceremony instead,^[93][94] Other confirmed artists such as Psy, Big Bang, CNBLUE and Exo will continue to perform on stage during the opening and closing ceremonies.^[95] After the news broke out, fans asked IAG for fair treatment of the group.^[96] Eventually, the JYJ sang the official song of the Games.^[97]

Sports

In cycling, Hong Kong cyclists had raised concerns after they found the competition venue would be on outdoor velodrome of 333 metres in length, instead of the 250 metres indoor velodrome, which is commonly in use during the Olympic Games and World Cup. Hong Kong Cycling Association claimed that outdoor velodromes are rare in modern cycling, they have to travel far to practice in a similar environment.^[98] The organising committee denied any advantage to the host nation. They also stated that the track was re-coated and received approval from Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).^[99]

In basketball, Olympic Council of Asia's eligibility rule on naturalized players, which contradicted the eligibility rule set by FIBA, became controversial as such rule disqualified Quincy Davis, a US-born player playing for the Chinese Taipei team, and Andray Blatche, a naturalized player of the Philippines, from participating in the tournament.^[100] In accordance with the rule, OCA also refused South Korea's request to include Aaron Haynes in the squad, an American veteran player in Korea's basketball league who was in the process of naturalization.^[101] Both OCA officials and IAGOC claimed that the OCA's eligibility rule requires a naturalized player to live minimum of three years in the country of his naturalization before becoming eligible to play for that country.^[102] Nevertheless, Chinese Taipei Basketball Association stated that it received the positive confirmation from OCA regarding the participation of Quincy Davis, which was suddenly overturned due to the fact that Davis was two months short from residing three full years in Chinese Taipei. Some basketball fans argued that that the host nation South Korea brought up the regulation rule at the last minute in order to not allow enough time for its major opponents to reconstruct their squads. Meanwhile, others said that South Korea was just enforcing the OCA's regulation and the South Korean team themselves were also negatively affected by the rule.^[100][101] Despite the request of FIBA to reconsider the enforcement of the eligibility rule, both OCA and the organizing committee upheld their decision.^[103]

In the 10-meter women air-rifle team event, China's team was initially disqualified after shooter Zhang Binbin was found to have violated regulations concerning maximum weight limits of her rifle. The disqualification was eventually reversed after a strong appeal by China officials that Zhang "didn't intend to break the rule", allowing China to retain their team gold and a new world record.^{[104][105][106]}

References

External links

• Official website

37°58′N 124°39′E / 37.967°N 124.650°E / 37.967; 124.650