Beijing, September 9 (Reporter Xing Rui) On the evening of September 23, the 23th Asian Games in Hangzhou will officially kick off, and the high-profile opening ceremony will be held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium. As the opening prelude of this competition, the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games benchmarked against the requirements of "simple, safe and wonderful", and integrated the rich historical and cultural heritage and Asian Games elements of Zhejiang and Hangzhou into all links. After many rehearsals, a visual feast will come out tonight to meet the world.
Data map: Outside the "National Ball Center" venue of the Asian Games Park of the Hangzhou Asian Games, giant table tennis rackets and three mascots form a beautiful landscape. Photo/Visual China
It is reported that the theme of the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games is "Rising Asia", which means that China in the new era is blending and stirring with Asia and the world, rushing forward like a tidal wave. The opening ceremony is divided into three chapters: "National Style and Elegance", "Qiantang Tide" and "Hand in Hand", and will specifically interpret the word "tide" in the theme through the tide of national style, the tide of nature, the tide of science and technology, the tide of sports, and the tide of digital.
It is understood that there are no star "big names" among the actors at the opening ceremony, and the main group performers are "amateurs" with no acting experience, coming from several universities in Hangzhou. The design of the cauldron during the opening ceremony also contained many highlights. The cauldron is named "Tidal Wave", which consists of 19 curved pillars forming a tidal shape, representing the 19th Asian Games and echoing the opening ceremony theme song "Tide Rising Asia".
In terms of ignition methods, the Hangzhou Asian Games also carried out innovations. It is revealed that the opening ceremony will achieve the "digital and real integration" ignition ceremony for the first time, creating the first digital ignition ceremony in the history of the Asian Games. At that time, more than 1 million "digital torchbearers" will gather on the Qiantang River to form a figurative digital torchbearer, step by step from the Qiantang River to the sky above the main stadium, and light the main torch together with the six torchbearers offline.
In addition to the wonderful theatrical performances, athletes from delegations from 45 countries and regions in Asia will also appear at the opening ceremony. At this Asian Games, the total number of Chinese sports delegations was 1329,886, with 36 athletes, including <> Olympic champions.
Image source: Official Weibo of the Chinese Olympic Committee.
It is worth mentioning that swimmer Qin Haiyang and basketball player Yang Liwei will be at the forefront of the phalanx as the flag bearers of the Chinese sports delegation at the opening ceremony.
At this year's Fukuoka Swimming World Championships, Qin Haiyang performed well, winning four golds and one silver while breaking a world record. Yang Liwei, as the captain of the Chinese women's basketball team, won the Asian Cup with her teammates this year. In the swimming events of this Asian Games, Qin Haiyang registered for the men's 4m, 1m, 50m breaststroke and men's 100m individual medley and two relay events, and he is eager to make breakthroughs in all events and improve his competitive performance. The Chinese women's basketball team is in Group A with Mongolia, Indonesia and India, and the girls' goal is still to defend their title.
Data map: On September 9, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, the 21th Asian Games Athletes' Village in Hangzhou held a delegation welcome ceremony to welcome the delegation staying in the Athletes' Village. Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhao Wenyu
Like other large-scale multi-sport games, before the opening ceremony, some events of the Hangzhou Asian Games have already been fired. From the 19th, cricket, volleyball, football and other sports began one after another. After the opening ceremony, on the morning of September 9, the first gold medal of this competition will be awarded in the women's lightweight double sculls event held at Fuyang Water Sports Center. The Chinese pair of Zou Jiaqi/Qiu Xiuping will hit the first gold medal of the Asian Games.
The Hangzhou Asian Games has a total of 40 major events, 61 sub-events and 481 sub-events, covering characteristic sports in various regions of Asia and emerging sports such as breakdancing and e-sports, and is the largest, most numerous and most extensive Asian Games in history. Between September 9 and October 23, the Hangzhou Asian Games will produce up to 10 gold medals. After half a month of competition, it is believed that this sports feast on the banks of the Qiantang River will leave a strong mark in the history of the Asian Games. (End)