Logo of the 2010 Asian Games
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Host city | Guangzhou, China | ||
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Motto |
Thrilling Games, Harmonious Asia (Chinese: 激情盛会,和谐亚洲) |
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Nations participating | 45 | ||
Athletes participating | 9,704 | ||
Events | 476 in 42 sports | ||
Opening ceremony | November 12 | ||
Closing ceremony | November 27 | ||
Officially opened by | Premier Wen Jiabao | ||
Athlete's Oath | Fu Haifeng | ||
Judge's Oath | Yan Ninan | ||
Torch lighter | He Chong | ||
Main venue |
Haixinsha Island (ceremonies) Guangdong Olympic Stadium (athletics) |
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Website | Official website | ||
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The 2010 Asian Games, also known as the XVI Asiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Guangzhou, China from November 12 to 27, 2010. Guangzhou was the second Chinese city to host the Games, after Beijing in 1990. A total of 9,704 athletes from 45 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 476 events from 42 sports and disciplines (28 Olympic sports and 14 non-Olympic sports), making it the largest event in the history of the Games. Due to reductions in the number of sports to be contested for the 2014 Asian Games, these Games marked the final time that six non-Olympic events would be held during the Asian Games.
The Games were co-hosted by Dongguan, Foshan and Shanwei, the three neighbouring cities. A total of 53 venues were used to host the events including 11 constructed for use at the Games. The design concept of the official logo of these Asian Games was based on the legend about the Guangzhou, featured a stylised calligraphic "Stone Statue of Five Goats in Yuexiu Hill", a symbol of the host city.
The opening and closing ceremonies were held along the Pearl River in Haixinsha Island, and was the first time in history that the opening ceremony for a major sports event was not held inside a stadium. The final medal tally was led by China, followed by South Korea and third place Japan. China set a new Games record with 199 gold medals. Three World and 103 Asian records were broken. In addition, the badminton men's singles gold medalist Lin Dan was voted as most valuable player (MVP). The President of Olympic Council of Asia Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah hailed the Games as "outstanding" and "one of the best ever". Though there were several controversies, the games were deemed generally successful with the rising standard of competition amongst the Asian nations.