Asian Games Hosts Tell Extra Athletes to Arrange Their Own Accommodation

Organisers of next month's Asian Games in Japan have told athletes outside the planned delegation total to make their own accommodation arrangements after expected attendance rose beyond available capacity. BBC Sport reports that the Games, scheduled for the Nagoya and Aichi region from September 19 to October 4, were originally expected to draw 15,000 athletes and officials.

The Olympic Council of Asia confirmed last week that the number is now likely to be closer to 17,000. According to the BBC report, the increase followed the addition earlier this year of teqball, a sport combining elements of football and table tennis, and padel. That has left the local organising committee facing roughly 2,000 more participants than the figure in its hosting plans.

Nagoya mayor Ichiro Hirosawa, who is also acting chairman of the local organising committee, said accommodating the expanded field would be difficult because the Games are operating under a tight budget. Hideaki Omura, the committee president and governor of Aichi Prefecture, said organisers lack both the staffing and funding needed to handle the late influx.

Omura said the host city agreement specifies a delegation of 15,000 and that no budget had been reserved for participants above that level. He also said there was nowhere for the additional athletes to stay under the existing arrangements. Those who still plan to attend beyond the agreed total will therefore need to secure accommodation themselves.

The Games will not use a purpose-built athletes' village. Organisers instead planned a mixture of temporary and conventional lodging. Between 4,000 and 5,000 athletes are due to stay aboard the Italian cruise ship Costa Serena while it is docked in the area, and another 2,000 are set to use shipping container-style huts.

The remaining athletes and officials are expected to stay in Tokyo hotels, where the swimming, diving and equestrian competitions are scheduled. The BBC report does not establish how the affected delegations will respond, whether alternative rooms have already been secured, or whether the higher projected total will ultimately attend. For now, the organisers' position leaves responsibility for the extra accommodation with the participants concerned.