New dates announced for Asian Games in Hangzhou

The 19th Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, capital city of East China's Zhejiang province, from Sept 23 to Oct 8, 2023, the Olympic Council of Asia announced on Tuesday.

The Games, originally scheduled to be hosted by the city from Sept 10 to 25, 2022, was put on hold by the council's Executive Board on May 6 after the board carefully considered "the pandemic situation and the size of the Games", and a Task Force was subsequently set up to finalize the new dates of the Games.

"The Task Force over the last two months held various discussions with the Chinese Olympic Committee, Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee and other stakeholders to find a window for the Games which did not conflict with other major international sporting events," said OCA in its statement. "The recommended dates by the Task Force were duly approved by the OCA EB."

"The OCA looks forward to celebrating the best Asian Games ever in Hangzhou in September 2023," it said.

In a separate statement, the organizing committee said it will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders, working in an all-round manner in its preparations for the Games to stage a spectacular sporting and cultural event with "Chinese Style, Zhejiang Glamor and Hangzhou Flavor."

Hangzhou will be the third Chinese city to host the Asian Games after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010. During the Games, competitions will also be held in co-hosting cities of Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing and Jinhua in Zhejiang province.