Asian Games 2026: Begin on 19 September
Asian Games 2026: Aichi-Nagoya Games Sports, Venues and Events Explained
The biggest sporting event held among Asian countries is the Asian Games.
✍️ By Shri Pradeep Trivedi
English translation adapted from the original Gujarati article without changes to the content or experiences described by the author.
Freelance Writer | Author | Sports Analyst | Lecturer | Sports Journalist
The Asian Games, often called the “Olympics of Asia”, will begin in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on 19 September. Athletes from a total of 46 Asian countries will take part and give their best to win around 469 gold medals.
Held every four years, the Asian Games will be held for the 20th time. The event will take place in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, with great celebrations. Nagoya is the capital city of Aichi Prefecture. The event was expected to cost around US$560 million, but the cost now looks likely to rise to around US$927 million.
At the 20th Asian Games, around 469 events will be held across 43 sports and 71 disciplines. These include aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing, breaking, canoeing, jiu-jitsu, kurash, mixed martial arts, cricket, cycling, equestrian, esports, fencing, field hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, judo, kabaddi, karate, modern pentathlon, padel, rowing, rugby sevens, sailing, sepak takraw, shooting, skateboarding, sport climbing, squash, surfing, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, teqball, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.
The highest number of events will be held in athletics, with 50 events, followed by swimming with 41 and shooting with 28.
Six sports will be held for the first time at these Asian Games. They are freestyle BMX, mixed martial arts, padel, surfing, teqball and virtual taekwondo.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies
The opening ceremony will be held on 19 September at 6:00 pm Japan time, which will be 2:30 pm Indian time, at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium. The grand event will be presented by the Chinese company Dafeng Industry. Japanese filmmaker Yukihiko Tsutsumi has been appointed as the creative director of the ceremony.
The closing ceremony will be held on 4 October at 6:00 pm Japan time, or 2:30 pm Indian time, at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium. Cultural programmes will be presented and the closing ceremony will take place. The hosting rights for the 2030 Asian Games will then be formally handed over to Doha, Qatar.
Emblem
The emblem of the 20th Asian Games was unveiled on 1 April 2020. It has symbols in three colours. The official emblem was designed by Hiroshi Miyashita.
Its main shape has the initial letters “A”, representing Asia and host Aichi, and “N”, representing host city Nagoya. These are formed by dynamic curves flowing towards a red sun.
The emblem uses three colours: purple, gold and green.
Purple represents the iris, which is the official flower of Aichi Prefecture. Gold represents Kinshachi, the famous symbol on top of Nagoya Castle. Green represents environmental awareness and an eco-friendly spirit.
The bright red sun represents the energy of the Olympic Council of Asia.
Together, the purple, gold and green curves flow towards the red sun. This represents unity, sportsmanship and moving forward together towards the future.
Mascot
The mascot of the 20th Asian Games is Honohon. Its name means “flame”, from an ancient Japanese word. It shows a flame burning high and brightly.
Its shape looks like an ear, or “ho”. It represents the strong passion and burning spirit in the hearts of athletes.
Its design is based on a mythical tiger-headed carp and Shachihoko, a famous guardian deity of Nagoya. Its red and white design includes Kabuki-style face markings, which represent justice and passion.
It has large eyes to watch the athletes’ performances, and large ears to hear their excitement and laughter.
Venues
The Asian Games events will be held in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and some venues in the Greater Tokyo Area.
The stadium with the highest seating capacity is Paloma Mizuho Stadium. Athletics events, including track and field and the marathon, will be held there.
Weightlifting events will be held at the City Trade and Industry Centre.
Cricket will be played at Koryo Sports Park in Nisshin.
The football final will be held at Tokyo Stadium.
Cycling events will be held at the Izu Velodrome in Izu, Shizuoka.
Swimming events will take place at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, while equestrian events will be held at Tokyo Equestrian Park.
Water polo will be played at the Rainbow Pool at Nippon Gaishi Hall.
Hisaya Odori Park, known as One Asia World, has been planned for both the Asian Games and Asian Para Games.
Athletes’ Village
For the 20th Asian Games, athletes will not stay in one central athletes’ village. Instead, they will stay in centres spread across different locations.
Floating Village: Around 4,000 to 5,000 athletes will stay on the chartered cruise ship Costa Serena, which will be docked at Kinjo Pier in Nagoya Port.
Container Huts: Around 2,000 athletes will stay at Garden Pier in temporary wooden villas designed to look like shipping containers.
The remaining athletes will stay in hotels in Aichi Prefecture and nearby areas.
The main question now is that these Asian Games are being held during Japan’s peak typhoon season. In such conditions, the organisers will face the major challenge of dealing with bad weather and high waves, especially when it comes to evacuating the docked ships and the athletes staying on them during an emergency.
As this is being written, Japan has already experienced earthquake tremors.
Motto and Music
The motto of these Asian Games is “One Asia”.
The official theme song of the event is “Beyond the Sky”. It has been created as a passionate and fighting song for all the athletes.
So, the 20th Asian Games will begin in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, Japan, on 19 September 2026.
After looking at this overview of the Asian Games, we will discuss special information about India in the next article.
Acknowledgement:
Newz Daddy extends sincere thanks to Shri Pradeep Trivedi, author, sports analyst and journalist, for sharing his memorable Asian Games details. We also appreciate the photographs and personal experiences that have enriched this article.