Asian Games organizers in Japan have confirmed that all 17,000-plus registered athletes and officials have secured accommodation, resolving earlier concerns about capacity shortfalls. The multi-sport event officially opens Saturday in Aichi and Nagoya, running through October 4, though basketball and football competitions have already begun.
Accommodation Plan Shifts From Original Village Model
Unlike the Olympic Games, which typically feature a dedicated athletes’ village, organizers opted for temporary housing solutions. Competitors are being housed in container huts, while between 4,000 and 5,000 participants will stay aboard an Italian cruise ship that docked in Nagoya on Tuesday. The remaining attendees are booked in hotels across the region.
Registration Surge Strained Initial Budget
Initial projections anticipated 15,000 athletes and officials. In mid-August, the Olympic Council of Asia revised that figure upward to approximately 17,000 following the inclusion of teqball — a hybrid of football and table tennis — and padel to the sports program.
Hideaki Omura, president of the organizing committee and Governor of Aichi Prefecture, previously warned that authorities had budgeted only for 15,000 people and had “neither the manpower nor the budget to make the necessary arrangements” for the additional athletes.
“There is simply nowhere for them to stay. If they still wish to come, they will have to make their own arrangements.”
Organizers Confirm All Registrants Housed
Last month, organizers and the Olympic Council of Asia announced that all “17,000-plus” athletes and officials who registered before the July deadline have been provided with “Games-appropriate accommodation.”
“The final preparations are all on track and progressing smoothly ahead of what promises to be the most spectacular Asian Games held for generations,” their joint statement read.
Some Officials Still Using Alternative Lodging
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino told AFP that while all Filipino athletes have secured beds, some officials and coaches are staying in “different hotels and Airbnb.”
