2010 Asian Games Being Held in Guangzhou, Then Incheon

INCHEON, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2010 Asian Games is being held in Guangzhou, China for 16 days from November 12 to November 27, 2010. Over 12,000 athletes from the 45 member countries of the Olympic Council of Asia participate in this event.

The city of Guangzhou constructed twelve brand-new venues and renovated 58 existing venues for the event. Incheon is next to receive the torch for the 2014 Games.

The 2010 Asian Games include forty-two sports, fourteen more than the Olympic Games. Incheon sent 45 athletes participating in 19 sports, including taekwondo and swimming.

On October 9, 2010 the Asian Games torch was lighted in Beijing and began the relay to Guangdong Province. The torch was displayed for three days in three different northeastern cities; Harbin, Changchun, and Haiyang. It made its way to Guangdong Province, passing through 21 cities before arriving in the city of Ghangzhou. Around two thousand torchbearers, aged 6 to 100 years old, took part in this event. On the 12th of November, the conclusion of the torch relay was celebrated with the lighting of the Asian Games Cauldron during the opening ceremony.

The city of Guangzhou invested 1.2 trillion Yuan (18 billion USD) in infrastructure development throughout Guangdong Province. This budget well exceeds the 2012 London Olympics, which indicates a nationwide effort to make the event a successful one. Guangzhou, the third largest city in China, hopes to host the Olympic Games sometime in the future.

On the night of November 27, at the end of the closing ceremony, Mayor Song Young-gil will receive the Asian Games Flag from city of Guangzhou, symbolizing the handoff for the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.