Asian Games 2023: President Xi Jinping to attend opening ceremony with overseas leaders as China promises ‘visual feast’
- Saturday night’s ceremony will feature electronic fireworks and reflect the Jiangnan culture of host city Hangzhou, the show’s chief director and producer says
- Extravaganza inspired by the region’s Qiantang River, whose tide will symbolise ‘the vitality of sports, the spirit of Zhejiang and the pulse of the times’
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Chinese President Xi Jinping and a host of overseas leaders will attend Saturday’s opening ceremony for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, the foreign ministry has announced.
Xi is expected to be joined by Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo for the event at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium.
At a press conference on Thursday, Sha Xiaolan, the ceremony’s chief director and producer, said the evening performance would reflect the Jiangnan culture of the Hangzhou region.
Sha said inspiration for the ceremony had been taken from the tidal bore that is a prominent feature of the imposing Qiantang River, which runs through the region.
“Tide is the surging tide of the Qiantang River, the vitality of sports, the spirit of [host province] Zhejiang and the pulse of the times,” he said.
Organisers have previously said that the lighting of the torch would take a more technologically advanced form and be carried out by both “digital and physical” means.
“The most difficult part of this is artificial intelligence and digital technology,” Sha said. “But we hope that the audience inside and outside of the opening ceremony can resonate with the same frequency.”
In keeping with the Games’ stated environmentally friendly approach, Sha said there would be no fireworks to light up the night sky.
Instead, he promised that through 3D animation and augmented reality technology the 50,000 spectators expected to be at the event would be treated to a “visual feast using brilliant electronic fireworks”.
“The electronic fireworks, together with the zero carbon emission of the Games torch, reflects the environmental awareness of the hosts, and demonstrates responsibility as a big country,” Sha said.
While forecasters are predicting some light rain and temperatures of around 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday, officials said plans were in place in the event of bad weather.
“In case of light rain situations which may affect the safety of our performers, we will be reducing [or cancelling] the use of some facilities, equipment and performing participants,” spokeswoman Li Yiqing said.
“Should the forecast predict that the weather conditions on the day are not suitable for the ceremony to be held outdoors, we will switch the ceremony to the indoor basketball arena.”
The ceremony is expected to be another spectacular affair in keeping with China’s proud tradition of opening nights that wow, and Li said a huge number of performers, all volunteers, had been recruited from universities in Hangzhou.
