The Flame passes on to the southern Chinese city which harbours the same burning desire to put on a spectacular show that Doha has shown.
Doha has raised the bar, with the most successful Asian Games ever. With a state-of-the-art Athletes' Village and Sports City, containing the impressive ASPIRE indoor sports complex and awe-inspiring Khalifa Stadium, the Qatar capital has been able to stage an event that will live long in the memory.
It has taken time, effort and money and for a nation comprising of less than a million people it is a superb achievement that will be difficult to better. Guangzhou, however, is well-equipped to follow suit.
The fifth largest city in China and the capital of South China's Guangdong province, Guangzhou has a population of around 6 million and is a port city on the Pearl River, navigable to the South China Sea.
It is reported that the number of people involved in sports in the city has reached 42 percent of the total population.
Guangzhou already has more than 10,000 sports facilities, including more than 50 advanced stadiums and gymnasiums, including the Olympic Sports Centre, Tianhe Sports Centre and the New Guangzhou Gymnasium.
With sports facilities covering a total area of 20 million square metres, Guangzhou has the capacity to host the Asian Games. The city will also build 10 competition venues and refurbish or rebuild some existing stadiums.
The Asian Games Village, as planned at the outset by the municipal government, is designed to offer all delegations a secure and comfortable living environment with its various facilities and services, such as accommodation, dining, entertainment, a hospital, finance services, and sports facilities.
The Village, which will be connected to the outside world through digital network systems, has a budget of 1.6 billion yuan (USD193 million) and is expected to be completed well in time for 2010.
From Doha 2006 to Guangzhou 2010 - good luck.
15th Asian Games, Doha 2006
Posted December 17th, 2006 by COBA
