The 19th Asian Games will kick off with a grand opening ceremony on Saturday, September 23 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium at 5:30 PM IST. The stadium is also popularly known as the Big Lotus and was constructed in 2018. The venue was originally built with the idea of keeping it a football stadium and has a spectator capacity of 80000.
The event will be one of a kind and have a digital torch-lighting ceremony. Numerous torchbearers are expected to be present at the venue during the opening ceremony and will create an outline of a digital human body on the Qiantang River using digital flames. The ceremony is expected to emphasise China's advancement in the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) and the country's historical and cultural significance.
The President of the People's Republic of China XI Jinping, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Han Duck-soo, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad among other dignitaries will grace the opening ceremony. India's Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur was slated to attend the opening ceremony too but cancelled his visit on the eve of the same after three wushu martial arts athletes were denied accreditation cards for participating in the event.
The captain of the Indian men's hockey team Harmanpreet Singh and Olympic bronze medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain will be India's flag bearers at the ceremony. India is going to field its largest ever contingent in the history of the Asian Games with 655 athletes participating across 39 sporting events.
Where to watch the Asian Games opening ceremony live in India?
The opening ceremony of the Asian Games 2023 will be streamed live on the SonyLiv app and website. Fans can also watch the telecast of the event live on the Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi) TV channels in India.
What time does the Asian Games 2023 opening ceremony kickstart?
The opening ceremony of the Asian Games 2023 will start at 5:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST).
