Changes have been made to Vietnam's 2016 Asian Beach Games plan to make the event more economically sustainable ©Getty Images

The Vietnam Olympic Committee (VOC) have announced they have made alterations to their plan to host the 2016 Asian Beach Games following recommendations from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in order to make it more economically sustainable.

The event, scheduled to take place from September 23 to October 4 next year, will now be solely held at Da Nang’s My Khe beach.

The original proposal made to the OCA included staging competitions in the Binh Thuan and Khanh Hoa Provinces, as well as Da Nang but that has been altered to help save expenses and travel time.

Vietnam wanted to exhibit their beautiful beaches and exotic locations to the world by incorporating three picturesque regions but the plan was not considered to be economically viable.

Athletes would have had to travel by air and road to the other two destinations, which was deemed inconvenient by the OCA, and Da Nang also has the better connections for international flights.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung agreed to a proposal to remove some of the more expensive sports from the Asian Beach Games event next year
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung agreed to a proposal to remove some of the more expensive sports from the Asian Beach Games event next year ©Getty Images

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also agreed to a proposal to cut several sports from the scheduled programme, such as windsurfing, sailboating, dragon boat racing and sea-doo racing in order to reduce costs.

Equipment for these sports is often the most expensive and the idea was formulated by a representative from the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as they attempt to make the Games as economical as possible.

Cheaper sports such as beach petanque and beach bodybuilding are set to be added as alternatives.

Around 3,500 athletes from 45 Asian Nations are expected to compete in the fifth edition of the Asian Beach Games.

The last event, held in Phuket, Thailand in 2014, was largely hailed as a huge success and the VOC will be hoping they can replicate that next year.

Vietnamese athletes managed a fifth-placed finish on the medal table at the 2014 competition as they secured eight gold, 12 silver and 20 bronze medals.

Vietnamese capital Hanoi had originally been awarded the 2019 Asian Games but withdrew last year because of financial problems and were replaced by Jakarta. 


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