OCA director general hails preparations for Harbin Asian Winter Games

(ECNS) -- The opening ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games will be held on Friday evening in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

This marks China’s third time hosting the event and its first major international winter sports competition since the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

"Harbin did a great job after taking the Games two years ago. The organizers prepared the facilities here and all the Games' requirements in a very short time and in a very professional way," said Husain Al Musallam, director general of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

He also expressed his pride in the Harbin Asian Winter Games, themed "Dream of Winter, Love among Asia," stating that the event is set to become one of the most prestigious and advanced winter sports competitions in the world.

According to organizers, the opening ceremony will run for approximately 80 minutes, featuring a 50-minute formal ceremony followed by a 30-minute artistic performance, torch-lighting ceremony, and thematic songs.

For the first time, a branch venue has been set up at Harbin Ice-Snow World, the world’s largest such theme park. The site will operate in sync with the main venue at Harbin International Exhibition Center Stadium during the ceremony.

This year’s event features six sports, 11 disciplines and 64 events. Notably, 31 percent of the events are making their debut at the Games, including two in speed skating, one in short track speed skating, one in curling, three in ski mountaineering, nine in freestyle skiing, and four in snowboarding.

With a delegation of 170 athletes, Team China will compete in all 64 events at this year’s Asian Winter Games, providing a valuable training opportunity ahead of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

The first gold medal of the Harbin Asian Winter Games is expected to be awarded on the morning of Feb. 8, with the short-track speed skating 2,000m mixed relay emerging as the most likely event to produce it, based on competition schedules and duration.

A total of 120 torchbearers carried the flame past local landmarks on Monday, ahead of the main torch tower being lit at tonight’s opening ceremony.

More than 1,270 athletes from 34 countries and regions across Asia have registered to participate in the Games, making this edition the largest in terms of participating delegations.