DOHA, 7 October 2006 — Preparations are in full swing to stage the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006 scheduled from Dec. 1 to 15. During the period, the world will be watching the games hosted here with a record 45 countries and regions participating.
Doha 2006 is expected to be the largest and most spectacular Asian Games ever, representatives of the Doha Asian Games Organizing Committee (DAGOC) told a 30-member group of Asian journalists during to a tour of the Main Media Center yesterday.
Doha 2006 will feature a record 39 sports including two new sports that will make their Asian Games debut — chess and triathlon. There will be in all 423 events with participants exceeding 10,500 athletes and team officials.
The Doha Asian Games Broadcasting Services will be capturing the performances and beaming them live worldwide. International broadcasters that will air the ceremonies include Television Broadcast Satellite-Taiwan (TVBS), Al Jazeera Satellite Channel, Solar, World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) and Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU).
Lasting three and a half hours each, the opening and closing ceremonies will both start at 6 p.m. at Khalifa Stadium on Dec. 1 and 15, respectively. One of the smallest countries on the largest continent, Qatar has mammoth ambitions to see that the games are a big success, as Doha is the first Arab city to hold this major international event.
There will be nine precincts and 10 stand-alone competition venues totaling 44 fields-of-play. The 1st Asian Games took place in New Delhi in 1951 and welcomed 11 countries participating in just six sports.
“Fifty-five years after the 1st Asian Games, the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006 is expecting 45 countries and regions that will participate in 39 competitive sports,” Reg Gratton, media manager, broadcasting and media services of DAGOC, said during the media tour. Manila (2nd), Tokyo (3rd), Jakarta (4th), Bangkok (5th, 6th, 8th and 13th), Tehran (7th), New Delhi (1st and 9th), Seoul (10th), Beijing (11th), Hiroshima (12th) and Busan, Korea (14th) have been the venues where the Games have been staged before. The Doha Games will be held at Doha’s new and existing venues located in and around the city. Eighty percent of the competition venues are located within a 15 kilometer radius of the Main Media Center (MMC). Journalists and photographers accredited to the 15th Asian Games will work at the Main Press Center (MPC) located at the diplomatic area of Doha toward the northern end of the Corniche. It is a short walk to Doha Bay and the largest retail shopping center in Qatar, the City Center, is across the street.”
The MPC is within 10 kilometers of more than half of the 39 sports being contested,” Gratton said.
During the tour, Gratton explained how the MPC is divided into two sections — the MPC and the International Broadcast Center (IBC). The MPC section has been built in a temporary structure next to the existing Qatar International Exhibition Center that will house the IBC. During the Games, the MMC will be home to more than 5,000 print media and broadcasters. The 30-member visiting group of Asian journalists includes representatives of print and TV channels from Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, China and India.
