The voting and power lies with the NOCs of Asia which are affiliated to the OCA who have one vote each, these are normally represented by up to three delegates. Others may attend but they will not have voting powers, these include the President or secretary general of the General Association of Asian Sports Federations, one representative of the international sports federations who may be from Asia and Asian sports federations seeking recognition.

The administration is conducted by the director general, who is appointed by the President of the OCA. The director general is responsible for the day to day administration and financial affairs of the OCA HQ and appointment of its staff.

The current director general is Husain Al Musallam who is also the technical director of OCA.

As part of its continued efforts to promote noble sports and Olympic principles, the Olympic Council of Asia started a project in collaboration with Olympic Solidarity and Daimler Chrysler at the beginning of 2001, called “Olympasia”. This creates the opportunity for all to participate in sports as the project provides funding for the building and development of sporting facilities.

More than 28 NOCs have completed 43 projects, with many more planned over coming months and years. It has been particularly effective with NOCs less able to support necessary but expensive projects themselves, or acquire the corporate or Government support to do so.

For instance, in 2002 the Project was used to assist the Mongolian National Olympic Committee in constructing their new headquarters, something subsequently seen as a key reason for the NOCs growth in both an administrative and a sporting sense.

In 2008 a financial subsidy was awarded through the project to the Jordan Olympic Committee in order to construct a new swimming pool in Amman.

In 2011, a subsidy of $100,000 (£53,000/$90,000) was awarded to the Bhutan Olympic Committee to put towards a first multi-purpose sports hall in Trashigang, envisaged as a key means by which to give the local population an opportunity to participate.

A head office was also built for the Nepal Olympic Committee through the project in 2012, while this and other Olympasia support was seen as crucial in encouraging the Nepalese Government to better finance the NOC thereafter

2014 Incheon Asian Games

The Asian Games is the largest sporting event in Asia governed by the OCA. Since first launching in at New Delhi, India in 1951, which saw 11 nations compete, the Games have been played every three years across Asia’s largest cities and is now on the 17th edition.

This year’s Games, which is due to take place next year between September 19 and October 4 in the South Korean city of Incheon, is expected to feature nearly 10,000 athletes from 45 countries competing in 437 events across 36 sports. “Diversity Shines Here” is the official slogan of the Games and the Games’ mascots, three seals known as “Barame”, “Chumuro” and “Vichuon”, which means wind, dance and light, are expected to feature prominently in the promotion of the Games over the next 18 months.

2014 Incheon Asian Games news

2014 Phuket Asian Beach Games

The 4th Asian Beach Games are due to take place Phuket, in the south west of Thailand in November 2014. The two main venues for the Games will be Patong Beach and Karon Beach.

Organisers have proposed November 14–23, 2014 however, ccompetition dates are yet to be confirmed along with the 19 sports. The slogan for this year’s Asian Beach Games is “Celebrate Charming Sunshine”.

2014 Phuket Asian Beach Games news

Where is Da Nang?

Da Nang one of Vietnam’s major port cities and is the biggest city on the country’s South Central Coast. Vietnam itself is located in South East Asia and shares land borders with China and Laos to the north, Cambodia to the west. Da Nang is roughly 770 kilometres away from the Vietnam’s capital city Hanoi.

Da Nang has a total area of 1,285 square km.

Language: Vietnamese

Currency: Vietnamese Dong.

Population: Around 1,007,400 are believed to live in the city of Da Nang.

Sister cities:

Da Nang sister cities in Asia include Kawasaki, Iwaki, Skizuoka, Kagoshima and Okinawa in Japan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Qingdao and Macau in China, Semarang in Indonesia, Kaohsiung in Chinese Taipei and Hai Phong in Vietnam.

San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Oakland, Tacoma and Jersey City in the United States are also sister cities with Da Nang, as is Newcastle in Australia.

The list of sister cities is completed by Timisoara in Romania, Izmir in Turkey and Yaroslavl in Russia.

History

The city's origins date back as far as 192AD when it was part of the ancient Champa Kingdom, but its name first appears on maps in the 16^th century. Da Nang, understood in the Champa language meaning “big river” is located next to the Han River and has been a major sea port for the Vietnam throughout its history and developed particularly when Europeans first began to land at the city.

Da Nang was ceded to France in 1787 functioned as a French concession until French withdrawal from Vietnam in 1954, when the country was partitioned. The city grew during the second Indochina War when the United States began utilising the port, where they established a major air base and began turning the city into one of the most modern and largest ports in the country.

As a consequence the city enjoys excellent transport links with the air base having been turned into an international airport following the conclusion of the war, while the city boasts national road and rail links with the capital city Hanoi, as well as Ho Chi Minh City.

Among the key attractions of the city are the Cham museum, which boasts many ancient artefacts from the period, while Buddhist shrines and the five peaks of the Ngu Hahn mountains are also popular tourist destinations. Tourism is one of the biggest industries for the city due to its beautiful beaches and boasts beachside resorts and nightclubs.

Sport

Da Nang football team SHB Da Nang plays in the V-League, Vietnam's top league and are currently one of the most highly ranked teams. They were crowned championsin 2009 and also won the Vietnamese Cup playoffs in the same year. As a result they also qualified for the AFC Champions League but failed to make it through the playoffs, although they reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup.

Due to its beaches, Da Nang is a popular water sports destination with holidaymakers and the general public able to enjoy jet skiing, kayaking, wind surfing, bodyboarding, wave boarding and parasailing.

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

To date, Vietnam have secured two Olympic medals in their history with Tran Hieu Ngan earning taekwondo silver at Sydney 2000, while Hoang Anh Tuan won weightlifiting silver at the Beijing 2008 Summer Games.

Weather

Annual average temperature +26°C

Average temperature in January +22°C

Average temperature in August +29°C

Annual average precipitation 78.3 cm

5th Asian Beach Games 2016

The 5th Asian Beach Games are set to be held in Da Nang in 2016. Originally Da Nang was due to share hosting duties with the town of Nha Trang, but the decision was made to host all events in Da Nang to save on costs.

Competition is scheduled to be held from September 24 to October 3, with 45 nations expected to send athletes to compete in the Games. Athletes are set to compete in athletics, aquatics, basketball, football, handball, rowing and wrestling, as well as non-Olympic sports such as muay, bodybuilding, woodball, pencak silat, petanque, shuttle cock, ju-jitsu, kurash, vovinam, kabaddi, sepaktakraw and sambo.

Da Nang has already unveiled its mascot and logo for the Games, with the logo having been designed to mimic waves and sand in the shape of young and dynamic athletes performing sport, with the OCA symbol inside. All parts of the logo rise up to form a large "V" shape, signifying Vietnam, victory and the number five in Roman numerals.

The mascot is a swiftlet, a distinct characteristic of the coastal central south of Vietnam which is famous for birds' nests - a valuable product in general and a particular speciality of Khánh Hòa province.

The mascot has a V-shaped tail and is holding a Torch which apparently represents solidarity, peace and vitality, with the OCA sun and the traditional waves on the outfit symbolising the Asian Beach Games.

Venues for 5th Asian Beach Games 2016

The Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Games are due to be held at the 28,000 capacity Chi Lang Stadium. The multi-purpose arena is most commonly used for football matches and is the home stadium of SHB Da Nang.

Competition during the Games is set to be spread across three venue clusters, situated on Da Nang’s My Khe beach. One of the hopes is that by staging the events in temporary venues on the beach, Vietnam will be able to display both their beautiful beaches and exotic locations to the world.

Where is Sapporo?

Sapporo, the fifth largest Japanese city by population, is the capital of Hokkaido, the most northerly of Japan’s four main islands.

Sapporo has a total area of 1,121 square km, which is roughly the same as Hong Kong.

Language: Japanese

Currency:The yen

Population:1.9 million people live in Sapporo making it the 5th most populated city in Japan.

History

Sapporo historically was a trading post before the Hokkaido Development Commission planned for the city to be modelled after Kyoto, resulting in a grid system of avenues and streets.

In 1972, the year the Sapporo hosted the Winter Olympic Games, the city was described as Japan’s northernmost city designated by Government ordinance.

Major industries of Sapporo include information technology, retail and tourism, with the city attracting people from all over the world with two million attending the annual Sapporo Snow Festival. The city also hosts the YOSOKOI Soran Festival and the Sapporo International Art Festival.

Symbols

Bird - Common Cuckoo

Flower - Lily of the Valley

Tree - Lilac

Sister cities

Portland - USA

Munich - Germany

Shenyang - China

Novosibirsk - Russia

Daejeon - South Korea.

Sport

Sapporo has a strong pedigree of hosting major sporting events, having hosted three matches of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

With snow covering the ground for a third of the year Sapporo is the perfect setting for traditional winter sports . The city has hosted the International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cups in ski jumping and Nordic combined, as well as the FIS Snowboard Japan Cup.

Curling is also an extremely popular sport in Sapporo and the city hosted the 2015 Women’s World Curling Championships.

Weather

Annual average temperature +8.9°C

Average temperature in January -7.0°C

Average temperature in August +26.4°C

Annual average snowfall 600cm

8th Asian Winter Games 2017

The Asian Winter Games will feature five sports: biathlon, curling, ice hockey, skiing (ski jumping, cross country, alpine, freestyle and snowboard), skating (speed skating, figure skating and short track).

Sapporo 2017 estimates that 1,200 athletes from around 30 of the OCA’s 45 member National Olympic Committees will take part, which would make it the largest Asian Winter Games in OCA history.

The dates for Games have been confirmed by the Organising Committee as February 19 to 26, 2017.

The 2017 event will be the eighth staging of the Asian Winter Games, with Sapporo hosting these Games for the third time following 1986 and 1990 and it will be the fourth time Japan will have staged the Games.

With the Asian Winter Games taking place just one year before the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the Sapporo Asian Winter Games Olympic Committee are attempting to produce a high-profile, high-quality winter sports competition.

Venues for 8th Asian Winter Games 2017

The Sapporo Dome

Opened in 2001 and has a maximum seating capacity of 53,796.

It is the first dome in the world equipped with a system for switching between turf for baseball and football, the two main sports that it hosts. The hovering system allows for Dome walls to open and close to lift the natural grass football field.

It is set to host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2017 Asian Winter Games and is one of the planned venues for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, hosting football. 

Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium

The Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium staged the large hill competition at the 1972 Winter Olympics.

The venue has facilities that enable ski jumping to be practiced during the summer or at night, in addition to winter jumping and has been the home for many international competitions and has host an International Ski Federation Ski Jumping World Cup event this winter.

Tsukisamu Gymnasium

Hosted ice hockey at the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympic Games and is currently used as both a skating rink for the general public as well as an ice hockey and figure skating venue.

It has a total capacity of 3,371, with 2,321 seats. It is set to host ice hockey at the Asian Winter Games as it did back in 1986.

Dohgin Curling Stadium

Located next to the Tsukisamu Gymnasium, the Dohgin Curling Stadium is one of the newest venues set to host action at the Asian Winter Games having opened in 2012.

The venue is the first public facility in Japan dedicated to curling and with five sheets at 5 degrees has already staged international competitions.

Shirahatayama cross-country course

Is set to stage cross-country skiing events, as it did at the 2007 FIS  Nordic World Ski Championships.

Meiji Hokkaido-Tokachi Oval Arena (in Obihiro)

The Arena is the only competition venue outside of Sapporo and will host speed skating. Opened in 2009 the venue has an indoor track for speed skating and is built on the site of the old artificial track from the 1986 No Mori Skating Centre.

The Sprint Cup in 2010 was the first international event the venue has held.

Where is Ashgabat?

Ashgabat is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan is located in Central Asia with neighbouring Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to the North and the East of the country, Afghanistan and Iran located to the South and the Caspian Sea to its West. Ashgabat is situated between the Karakum desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range, just north of the Iranian border.

Ashgabat has a total area of 440 square km.

Language: Turkmen

Currency: Turkmenistan manta

Population: Estimates of Ashgabat’s population range from between 700,000 to 1 million people.

Sister cities

Athens, Greece

Albuquerque, United States

Ankara, Turkey

Kiev, Ukraine

History

Ashgabat was founded in 1881 as a Russian military fort and has developed from a small village into the largest industrial, scientific and cultural centre of the country. The city was under the rule of the Soviet Union from for 1917 until the country’s independence in 1991. During Soviet rule the city vastly expanded in population size and industrialisation, but an earthquake measuring around 7.3 on the Richter Scale in 1948 killed a vast percentage of the population.

Following independence the city has begun to modernise with high-rise building a common feature of the landscape of Ashgabat. Additionally,  the Guinness Book of Records lists Ashgabat as the city as having the highest concentration of white marble buildings in the world.

Ashgabat’s predominant industries are cotton textiles and metal work. Many of the Government institutions are based in the city and alongside administrative jobs, provide a large percentage of the employment of the local population.

Sport

Currently one of the main sporting venues in Ashgabat is the Olympic Stadium, which has not staged an Olympic Games, but is being extended from its current 30,000 capacity to a 60,000 arena, due to be completed by 2017.

The Stadium is the focal point of the Olympic Complex which also includes other key sporting facilities. They include Ashgabat Stadium, a 20,000 multi-purpose sporting venue, water and winter sports complexes and an ice hockey rink.

Turkmenistan first appeared at the Olympic Games in 1996 but is yet to earn an Olympic medal of any colour. However the country have won three gold, seven silvers and 10 bronze medals at the Asian Games since their first appearance in 1994.

Their sambo star Gulbadam Bahamuratova won the first gold medal of the Asian Beach Games in 2014, while the country have also received four  silvers and seven bronze medals in their history at the Games.

Weather

Annual average temperature +16°C

Average temperature in January +2°C

Average temperature in August +29°C

Annual average precipitation 27.5cm

5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games 2017

The 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games will be held in Ashgabat in 2017. Ashgabat were named hosts of the Games in Kuwait in December 2010. In addition to 45 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the OCA, 17 NOCs from Oceania have been allowed to participate at the Games, including Australia and New Zealand.

All competition as the Games will take place in the newly constructed Olympic Village and will see sports from indoor athletics, track cycling and swimming in addition to the likes of chess, muay thai, sambo and kurash.

Currently 19 sports are pencilled in to be held during the Games but the OCA President Sheikh Fahad Al-Sabah has said that additional sports may be added in order to promote the Olympic sports movement in Turkmenistan.

Proposed Venues for 5th Asian Indoor and martial Arts Games 2017

The Olympic Village will host competitions for around 11 days, with state-of-the-art venues being built, including an indoor athletics facility, tennis facilities and an aquatic centre. The Olympic Complex will include a Paralympic Rehabilitation Medical Centre, a large indoor arena with a capacity of 15,000 and a smaller indoor arena which will have 5,000 seats. Additionally a velodrome being built at the site and will host around 6,000 people.

The overall cost of the Olympic Village will total around $5 billion (£3 billion/€4.5 billon) with construction carried out by Turkish company Polimeks.

Aside from the Complex the hosts will also build shopping centres, hotels, restaurants, cafes, shops, consumer services and a car park, to ensure a first class experience for both athletes and fans. The Athletes’ Village itself will have 12,000 beds while an 800-room luxury media hotel is also being built in readiness for the Games.

Officials in Turkmenistan believe that the Olympic Complex being built for the Games will host future international competitions and could help the country secure events like the Asian Games.

“Turkmenistan is a fast-growing, developing country and the Government pays great attention to sport,” said Azat Murdov, secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of Turkmenistan.

“After 2017 we have a vision to host big events, like the Asian Games and the Youth Olympic Games, the final destination for us is the Olympic Games. But first we have to gain experience.”

Batyr Orazov, chairman of the State Committee of Turkmenistan for Sport has also claimed that, “this has been a much-anticipated project as everybody looks ahead to the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017”.

“But this development will serve for much longer than these Games – we hope to host many future international sporting events here. The building of Ashgabat’s Olympic Complex is just the beginning for hosting international sport in Turkmenistan.”

Where is Jakarta?

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is located on the northern coast of West Java, in Southeast Asia. Jakarta is one of over 13,000 islands that make up Indonesia and lies between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Jakarta enjoys the status of a province and owing to its vast size is broken down into five cities - North, South, East, West and Central Jakarta.

In recent years Jakarta has grown to be the most populous city in Southeast Asia with a current population over nine million people, making it the 12th largest city in the world and has developed into one of Asia’s most metropolitan areas. As the capital, Jakarta is the cultural, economic and political centre of Indonesia . The city  is viewed as an area of contrasts, with modern high-rises often lying next to more traditional buildings.

Jakarta has a total area of 664 square kilometres.

Language: Indonesian

Currency: Indonesian rupiah

Population: An estimated 10.2 million people live in Jakarta

History

Jakarta has historically been an important trading city and was named as Indonesia’s capital following its independence in 1945.

With Jakarta located in West Java, it has proved to be a gateway to the rest of Indonesia, as its transport links via air, land and sea have resulted in immigration and tourism into the area. As a consequence Jakarta has developed into one of the most diverse metropolitan city in the region. Approximately 300 different ethnic groups are represented in this area from all over the country, which is made up of around 13,000 islands.

Jakarta has a Governor and its five cities are all headed by a Mayor and a regent. Governors were previously appointed by local parliament but in 2007 the first ever election was held and was won by Fauzi Bowo. The current Governor of Jakarta is Bashuki Tjahaja Purnama.

Jakarta’s economy predominantly depends upon the financial services, while manufacturing and trading are also vital. Key manufacturing industries include automotive, chemical, electronics, biomedical sciences and mechanical engineering.

Sport

Jakarta has been a regular host of international sporting events, having staged the fourth Asian Games in 1962, in which 17 nations competed in 13 sports. Additionally Jakarta has hosted the Southeast Asian Games more than any other country in the region, having staged the multi-event competition in 1979, 1987, 1997 and the most recent event in 2011 where they co-hosted with Palembang.

In 2007 Jakarta hosted football's Asian Cup final at the Bung Karno Stadium, which has a maximum capacity of 88,083 and is the home of the Indonesian men’s team.

Jakarta will play host to the 2015 Badminton World Championships having previously staged the event in 1980 and 1987, while the World Karate Federation have also held two successful series legs in the region.

Weather

Annual average temperature +28°C

Average temperature in January +27°C

Average temperature in August +27°C

Annual average precipitation 175.5cm

18th Asian Games 2018

Jakarta stepped in to host the 2018 Asian Games after Vietnam pulled out of hosting the event in their capital Hanoi, last April, citing economic reasons for their withdrawal.

The 2018 Games will be the 18th staging of the multi-sport event and it will be the second time Jakarta has hosted, and they will be supported by the cities of Palembang and Bandung. The Indonesian Government has announced that the budget of the Games will be IDR3 trillion (£157 million/$236 million/€200 million).

Competition is set to be held from August 18 to September 2 and 45 National Olympic Committees are expected attend sending around 15,000 athletes and team officials.

Although the sports programme has to be confirmed, it is expected to feature 28 Olympic sports and six non-Olympic sports. Organisers are preparing to recruit 5,000 volunteers to ensure the smooth running of event and predict 7,000 media officials will attend.

Proposed Venues

Jakarta BMW Stadium

The Stadium, currently under construction, will host the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Games. It is designed to be a multi-purpose venue, which will host football matches after the Asian Games. The Stadium is located at Tanjung Priok.

Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex

The Complex built for the 1962 Asian Games will be one of the main clusters of venues in 2018, as it boasts a stadium with a capacity of 88,000 spectators, an athletics track, an aquatics stadium, archery and baseball fields, indoor gymnasiums and tennis courts.

With the venue over 50-years old it will undergo renovations prior to the Games, which could include rebuilding the swimming venue. The complex is in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Indonesia Convention Exhibition

The exhibition centre has been mooted as a potential host of indoor team sports, including basketball, handball, volleyball and sepak takrawl. The venue has 10 halls and four floors.

Jakarta International Expo

Located in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, the venue would be the home to martial arts event at the Games.

Kelapa Gading Sports Hall

Earmarked as the Judo venue for the Games, the Kelapa Gading Sports Hall is located in East Jakarta.

Rawamangun Velodrome

The outdoor velodrome is due to be torn down and rebuilt as an indoor venue, which has the ability to stage major international cycling races.

With the venues still yet to be confirmed there are reports that Cikole Lembang could host some cycling events, Cipule Karawang for water based events like canoeing and rowing and Depok, just south of Jakarta may host the equestrian competitions. 

Organisers however have confirmed that they will build an Athletes' Village to accommodate 1,500 athletes and members of the media in Kemayoran, while the Main Press Centre will also be based in the Jakarta Convention Centre.