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A Chefs de Mission seminar has been held in Phuket for the 4th Asian Beach Games, due to take place there in November.
More than 6,000 athletes representing 45 countries are set to take part in the Games, scheduled to take place between November 14 and 23, which is not in danger of being moved despite the military having taken power in Thailand last month and several sports events having already been cancelled or relocated.
A total of 168 events are due to be held in 26 beach or sea sports.
The Chefs de Missions were welcomed to the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket by Maitri Inthusut, the Governor of Phuket Province, who promised world-class sports facilities and the highest levels of professional service.
Kanokphand Chulakasem, secretary general of Phuket 2015, claimed the Asian Beach Games had become a multi-sports model for other continents to follow and described the city located in the South East of Phuket Island as the "perfect location" for such a celebration of sport and culture.
But Olympic Council of Asia's (OCA) life vice-president Wei Jizhong admitted the Games presented a big challenge for the Organising Committee, OCA and for Phuket because 26 sports will take place in the peak tourist season of November.
With several new sports, including beach modern pentathlon, on the programme and athletes accommodated in hotels around the island, Wei urged the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to send a strong administrative team to advise and assist the athletes regarding protocol and procedures.
It is expected a number of International Olympic Committee (IOC) members and International Federations will attend the event with the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) planning to host a World Beach Games in the near future.
There will be six venue clusters, including the popular tourist hot-spots of Patong Beach, which will host nine sport, and Karon Beach, ten sports.
Canadian show jumper Ian Millar holds the record for the most Olympic appearances by an athlete in any sport. When he competed at London 2012 at the age of 65 it was the tenth time he had competed in the Games since making his debut 30 years earlier at Munich 1972. He had won his only Olympic medal at Beijing 2008 when he was part of Canada’s team that took silver in the team jumping event. Millar won a gold medal in the Pan American Games team jumping event at Toronto 2015. He announced his retirement in 2019.
The City of Liverpool is host to the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2022.
The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships is the property of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) which is the governing body of Gymnastics worldwide. The Championships represent the pinnacle of elite gymnastics competition, attracting a substantial worldwide broadcast audience. WGC2022 is looking to engage an individual or agency to deliver the commercial sales process and maximise commercial opportunities for the event.
Almost 35 years after losing out to Barcelona for the 1992 Olympics, Brisbane is poised to stage the Games in 2032. Philip Barker reports on the long history of Australian Olympic bids, with the country still one of only two in the Southern Hemisphere to have hosted the Games.