Sparkling opening night in blue

Attending the opening ceremony were leaders of many countries such as Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Speaker of the Malaysian House of Representatives Johari Abdul... Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Lee Ka-chiu also attended.

With the theme "Towards Asia", the opening ceremony was divided into 3 chapters, including "National Style and Elegant Rhyme"https://dangcongsan.vn/the-thao/, "Tide of the Qiantang River" and "Walking Together". Artists and impressive digital technologies recreated and integrated symbols and images of Zhejiang Province in general and Hangzhou City in particular into performances expressing Chinese culture, Asian sports spirit and integration in the new era.

The opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games was truly a “party” of sound and light at the stadium dubbed the “Big Lotus”, with a capacity of up to 100,000 people. Aiming to “green” all activities, the opening ceremony did not have a traditional fireworks display, but instead, millions of virtual sparks lit up the sky, symbolizing those who participated in the torch relay at this year’s Asian Games. These sparks then merged into a human figure walking down the stage and lighting the 2023 Asian Games cauldron with 6 typical athletes carrying the torch in real life.

Six athletes, including swimmer Ye Shiwen, table tennis player Fan Zhendong, freestyle skier Xu Mengtao, weightlifter Shi Zhiyong, badminton player Li Lingwei and swimmer Wang Shun, completed the final torch relay at the opening ceremony. The last torchbearer lit the main ASIAD torch platform along with "digital torchbearers" representing the participants of the online torch relay. With the aim of protecting the environment, the torch's fuel is zero-emission methanol. This is also the first time in history that the host country has held a torch lighting ceremony on a digital platform, integrating digital and physical.

In addition, the ceremony also applied many unique art models such as panoramic water spray, art combination technology, and integrated unique traditional Chinese culture into the entire opening ceremony through the artistic ideas of ink painting and Jiangnan mist.

The long history and culture of Hangzhou city and Zhejiang province are told through vivid images based on 3D technology, which the audience can watch without the need for glasses.

The official song of ASIAD 19 "The love we share" and the mascots, the three robots Chenchen, Congcong, and Lianlian, all appeared at the ceremony.

The 19th Asian Games is the Asian Games with the largest number of athletes participating in history, with nearly 13,000 athletes from 45 countries and territories competing in 40 sports with 61 disciplines, 461 events held in Hangzhou city and 5 satellite cities: Ningbo, Wenzhou, Jinhua, Shaoxing and Huzhou - all in Zhejiang province, one of the most prosperous regions in China. The previous record was set at the 18th Asian Games held in Indonesia in 2018, with 11,420 athletes participating.

The host country China's delegation has 1,329 members, including 886 athletes competing in 407 events of 38 sports.

The Vietnamese Sports Delegation participating in the 19th ASIAD has 504 members, including 337 athletes, 90 coaches and 11 experts. The delegation competes in 31/40 sports, 202/483 events of the Games, with the goal of winning 2-5 gold medals focusing on athletics, chess and martial arts, while striving to win many tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics (France). The two athletes assigned to hold the flag for the Vietnamese Sports Delegation are Nguyen Huy Hoang (swimmer) and Nguyen Thi Huong (shooter).

Second only to the Summer Olympics in terms of scale and achievements, the ASIAD has long been a source of pride, even a symbol of Asian sports. China is currently the most successful country in the history of the Asian Games, always holding the top position in the medal tally in the last 10 games, with a total of 1,473 gold medals. Japan is in second place with 1,032 gold medals, followed by South Korea with 745 gold medals./.

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