Pre-opening information
The organizers estimate that there will be about 15,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries and territories flocking to Paloma Mizuho stadium during the opening ceremony of ASIAD 20.
Instead of building a technology-oriented program, the organizers chose to combine modern elements with local performers.
The director of the opening program is Mr. Yukihiko Tsutsumi, who was behind the TV series TRICK and the film trilogy 20th Century Boys. Meanwhile, thousands of volunteers, dancers and local martial artists have been practicing for months.
Modern technology will appear in some performances. The industrial robot arm system will control the flags, create movement according to design and coordinate with the performer and the lighting system on the stage.
The torch relay was carried out with three fire sources, successively departing from Tokyo, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Nagoya Castle.
Saori Yoshida - a Japanese freestyle wrestling legend was the first to hold the torch. Then, about 1,000 people including former player Homare Sawa, tennis player Kimiko Date and elementary school students participated in the journey through 16 districts of Nagoya.
Safety assurance work is being deployed in parallel. About 10,000 police officers are mobilized every day during the opening ceremony, while the area within a radius of about 1km around the stadium is subject to a flight ban.
