New events and new participating nations will be a highlight of next year’s Asian Winter Games, according to Zhang Haihua, Deputy Secretary General of the Organizing Committee for the 9th Asian Winter Games, and Deputy Mayor of Harbin Municipal Government.
"The new events have attracted attention. For the events planned for the Asian Winter Games, 31 percent of them will make their debuts, including the three ski mountaineering events, which have also been identified as new events for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, and will become important tests for athletes. China, Japan and South Korea have registered to compete in all events. Cambodia and Saudi Arabia have registered for participation at the Games for the first time in history. A total of 25 countries have signed up for Alpine skiing, making it the most popular event at the games. Many countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and West Asia have signed up, such as Nepal, Bhutan, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and other countries in the West Asia region, reflecting how in recent years, especially after the Beijing Winter Olympics, ice-snow sports in Asia have been developing rapidly,” Zhang said at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.
The press conference was held to kick off the 100-day countdown to the Games.
The Games will take place from February 7 to 14, 2025, in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. More than 1,500 athletes from 34 countries and regions have registered to compete in a total of 64 events in 11 disciplines across six sports.
As the hosts, China will send over 170 athletes to participate in all 64 events. All 13 venues for the events have been confirmed. The five in Harbin will host ice competitions and the eight in Yabuli will be ready for snow events.
The recruitment of volunteers is also on track, with applicants from across China and around the world looking to help out at the Games, Zhang said.
"Volunteers for the Asian Winter Games are recruited from all over the world. A total of 6,000 volunteers have been selected. In terms of personnel composition, the volunteers are mainly from colleges and universities in Heilongjiang Province. In addition, there are people from the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and 21 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as more than 400 overseas student from 22 foreign countries," she said.
New events, new participating nations will be highlight of Asian Winter Games: official
