The success of the 2018 Asian Games will largely depend on the spectators, according to organisers ©INASGOC

With two months to go before the 2018 Asian Games begin in Indonesia, organisers have said spectators will be key to the event's success. 

The Opening Ceremony will begin on Saturday, August 18, at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta. 

It will be the first Asian Games to be co-hosted, with events also taking place in Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province, around 1,000 kilometres from Jakarta. 

President of the Indonesia Asian Games Organising Committee (INASGOC) Erick Thohir says as the countdown enters the final eight weeks, their focus has shifted to those coming to the Games, the fans and athletes.

Tickets are due to go on sale on June 30. 

"It is important to engage the people, not only in Indonesia but in Asia, about how they can have easy access to ticketing and also how to come to the venues," said Thohir.

"At the same time, we want to make sure that what we are promising to our athletes we are giving them, the best food, transportation and security. 

"The athletes are the most important people."

The Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta will host the Opening Ceremony on August 18 ©Getty Images
The Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta will host the Opening Ceremony on August 18 ©Getty Images

INASGOC has joined forces with international ticketing agent KiosTix to try and sell 1.3 million tickets for the event, which will run from August 18 to September 2.

The cheapest tickets will cost just IDR30,000 (1.60/$2/€1.80), with the average ticket price set at IDR100,000 (£5/$7/€6).

They will be available at supermarkets, convenience stores and banks as well as at official merchandise shops and at the Games venues themselves.

As for transport, a target travel time of 34 minutes has been set to get from the Athletes' Village at Kemayoran to the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in downtown Senayan.

To make this possible, considering Jakarta's notorious traffic problems, a bus-way will be transformed into a special Olympic lane, with police escorts also in use. 

Toll roads will also be available exclusively for Asian Games vehicles if the traffic is particularly bad. 

It has also been announced that around 36,000 security officers will be on duty during the Games. 

The Organising Committee has been working closely with the police and army since 2016 to plan the event, but that operation has now been expanded to also include intelligence and anti-terror units. 

The next big milestone on the countdown will be at 50 days to go on June 29.

At that point, both the medals and the official theme song will be revealed to the public. 

A total of 4,066 medals will be awarded over the two week competition, which features 40 different sports.