2026 Asian Games

The 2026 Asian Games (2026年アジア競技大会), also known as 20th Asian Games (第20回アジア競技大会) and Aichi–Nagoya 2026 (愛知/名古屋2026), will be a multi-sport event celebrated around Aichi Prefecture in Japan from 19 September to 4 October 2026. The prefecture capital Nagoya will be the epicenter of the events. Nagoya will be the third Japanese city to host the Asian Games, after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994. The event is set to return to its traditional four-year cycle, after the 2022 edition was postponed to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

XX Asian Games
Host cityAichi Prefecture and Nagoya, Japan
MottoImagine One Asia (Japanese: ここで、ひとつに, romanized: Koko de, hitotsu ni)
Nations46
Events460 in 42 sports (61 disciplines)
Opening19 September 2026
Closing4 October 2026
Main venuePaloma Mizuho Stadium
Websiteaichi-nagoya2026.org/en/
Summer
← Hangzhou 2022
Doha 2030 →
Winter
← Harbin 2025
Neom 2029 →

Bidding process

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) welcomed the joint proposal from Aichi Prefecture and its capital Nagoya to host the Games at their annual general assembly session in Da Nang, Vietnam, on 25 September 2016. The joint bid proposal almost did not happen due to financial differences between the two interested parties; these were resolved in 2015 and 2016, allowing the joint bid to be accepted. The OCA originally planned to choose the 2026 host city in 2018, but brought the planning date forward due to the intensity of the region's sporting calendar, including the next two Winter Olympic Games and FIFA World Cups between 2018 and 2022 (held in Pyeongchang and Beijing, as well in Russia and Qatar) and the next Summer Olympic Games (held in Tokyo in 2020).

2026 Asian Games bidding results
City NOC Result
Aichi and Nagoya  Japan Unanimous

Development and preparations

Costs

The city of Nagoya received an estimate of roughly ¥85 billion ($560 million) in costs from the Aichi Prefecture government for the Games, 30% of which is expected to be covered by sponsorships and other revenue, while the remainder is planned to be split on a 70–30 basis between Nagoya and Aichi Prefecture. In February 2023, the cost was reported to have ballooned to ¥140.5 billion ($927 million).

Athletes Village

The Aichi–Nagoya Organising Committee decided not to construct a permanent athletes village due to high costs, and instead chose to have a cruise ship docked at Kinjo Pier acting as the main athletes village. Other athletes will be hosted in temporary villas made from repurposed shipping containers near the Port of Nagoya, and some will be based in several hotels across the prefecture and outlying cities. Regarding the cruise ship, organisers have put in place several contingency plans if athletes were to be evacuated from the venue due to tsunamis, typhoons or other natural disasters.

Logistics

The Aichi–Nagoya Organising Committee is in the process of formulating a comprehensive transport plan that will include specific routes, coordination with transport service providers, and operational preparations for arrival/departure, opening/closing ceremonies, and daily movements to competition venues. They aim to leverage existing infrastructure and technology to provide efficient and comfortable transportation during the Games.

In principle, spectators are expected to rely on public transport. Aichi and Nagoya have an extensive public transportation network, including:

  • Trains: JR lines (Tokaido Shinkansen, Tokaido Main Line, Chuo Main Line, etc.), Kintetsu Railway, Meitetsu, and various other local rail lines.
  • Subway: The Nagoya Municipal Subway has a comprehensive subway system with six lines.
  • Buses: Numerous private and public bus companies operate throughout the region, complementing the rail services.
  • Shuttle Buses: If necessary, shuttle buses between competition venues and the nearest public transport stations will be considered to aid spectator movement.
  • Travel Demand Management: Measures to curb private cars use around Games-related facilities, such as public announcements, will be implemented to ensure smooth transportation and maintain urban order.

Venues

In addition to Nagoya, events will be spread across cities across Aichi Prefecture, and some venues in the Greater Tokyo Area that also hosted events during the 2020 Summer Olympics, as well as Gifu, Osaka and Shizuoka prefectures. Cycling events are scheduled to be held at the Izu Velodrome in Izu, Shizuoka. Some aquatic events were originally scheduled to be held at the Rainbow Pool, but with less than three years to go, OCA pointed out that the facilities did not meet World Aquatics' regulations. After discussions, it was decided to move the swimming events to the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, and the equestrian events to the Tokyo Equestrian Park; water polo was also moved to the Nippon Gaishi Hall's Rainbow Pool.

Nagoya

Venue Events Capacity Status
Paloma Mizuho Stadium Ceremonies 35,000 Existing, replacement
Athletics (track and field, marathon start/finish)
Nippon Gaishi Hall Gymnastics 10,000 Existing
Aquatics (water polo) 3,500
Aichi Prefectural Government Office and Nagoya City Hall Athletics (race walk) TBA Temporary
Kinjō-futō Station Square 3x3 basketball TBA
Aichi International Arena Basketball 17,000 New
Judo
Obata Ryokuchi Urban Forest Cycling (mountain bike) TBA Existing with temporary stands
Nagoya Velodrome BMX Race Course Cycling (BMX racing) TBA New
CS Asset Minato Soccer Stadium Football 6,700 Existing
Paloma Mizuho Rugby Stadium Rugby sevens 11,900
Football
Aichi Budokan Ju-jitsu 1,500
Kurash
Wushu
Inae Sports Center Mixed martial arts 2,200
Wrestling
Paloma Mizuho Arena Sepak takraw 1,200
Nagoya International Exhibition Hall Sport climbing 5,900 Temporary
Kinjo Pier Arena Squash 2,600 Existing
Higashiyama Park Tennis Center Tennis 4,000
Soft tennis
City Trade and Industry Centre Weightlifting TBA Existing with temporary stands

Aichi Prefecture

Venue City Events Capacity Status
Okazaki Central Park Okazaki Archery TBA Temporary
Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium Ichinomiya Badminton 2,000 Existing
Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium Okazaki Baseball 20,000
Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium Toyohashi 15,895
Anjō Softball Ground Anjō Softball 2,500
Hekinan Ryokuchi Beach Court Hekinan Beach volleyball TBA Temporary
Nishio City General Gymnasium Nishio Boxing 2,900 Existing
Miyoshi Lake Miyoshi Canoeing (sprint) TBA Existing with temporary stands
Yahagi River Canoe Slalom Course Toyota Canoeing (slalom) TBA
Korogi Athletic Park Nisshin Cricket TBA Existing, replacement
Shinshiro Road Cycling Course Shinshiro Cycling (road) TBA Temporary
Aichi Sky Expo Tokoname Breaking TBA Existing with temporary stands
Cycling (BMX freestyle) TBA Temporary
Esports TBA Existing with temporary stands
Fencing TBA
Skateboarding TBA Temporary
Toyota Stadium Toyota Football 45,000 Existing
Wave Stadium Kariya Kariya 2,602
Kasugai Country Club Kasugai Golf TBA Existing with temporary stands
Kasugai City General Gymnasium Handball 3,000 Existing
Toyoda Gosei Memorial Gymnasium Inazawa 3,500
Tōkai Citizens Gymnasium Tōkai Kabaddi 1,300
Toyohashi City General Gymnasium Toyohashi Karate 3,000
Taekwondo
Anjō Sports Park Anjō Modern pentathlon 1,700
Kaiyoh Yacht Harbor Gamagōri Sailing TBA Temporary
Triathlon TBA
Aichi General Shooting Range Toyota Shooting TBA Existing
Akabane Long Beach Tahara Surfing TBA Temporary
Sky Hall Toyota Toyota Table tennis 6,500 Existing
Okazaki Central Park General Gymnasium Okazaki Volleyball 4,673
Park Arena Komaki Komaki 5,000

Outlying venues

Gifu Prefecture
Venue City Events Capacity Status
Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium Gifu Football 26,109 Existing
Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium Kakamigahara Field hockey 1,600
Nagaragawa International Regatta Course Kaizu Rowing TBA Existing with temporary stands
Shizuoka Prefecture
Venue City Events Capacity Status
Furuhashi Hironoshin Memorial Hamamatsu Swimming Centre Hamamatsu Aquatics (artistic swimming) 2,200 Existing
Izu Velodrome Izu Cycling (track) 3,600
Shizuoka Stadium Fukuroi Football 50,889
Tokyo
Venue Ward Events Capacity Status
Tokyo Aquatics Centre Kōtō Aquatics (diving, swimming) 10,000 Existing
Tokyo Equestrian Park Setagaya Equestrian 1,500
Osaka Prefecture
Venue City Events Capacity Status
Nagai Stadium Osaka Football 47,816 Existing

Ceremonies

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony will be held on 19 September 2026 at Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony was held on 4 October 2026 in Paloma Mizuho Stadium; it included a cultural presentation, closing remarks, and the formal handover to Doha, in Qatar as hosts of next edition in 2030.

The Games

Sports

2026 Asian Games Sports Programme
  • Aquatics
    •  Artistic swimming (2)
    •  Diving (10)
    •  Swimming (41)
    •  Water polo (2)
  •  Archery (10)
  •  Athletics (50)
  •  Badminton (7)
  • Baseball
    •  Baseball (1)
    •  Softball (1)
  • Basketball
  •  Boxing (11)
  •  Breaking (2)
  •  Canoeing
    • Slalom (6)
    • Sprint (12)
  • Combat sports
    •  Ju-jitsu (7)
    •  Kurash (6)
    •  Mixed martial arts (6)
  •  Cricket (2)
  •  Cycling
    • BMX (4)
    • Mountain bike (2)
    • Road (4)
    • Track (12)
  •  Equestrian (7)
  •  Esports (11)
  •  Fencing (12)
  •  Field hockey (2)
  •  Football (2)
  •  Golf (4)
  •  Gymnastics
    • Artistic (14)
    • Rhythmic (2)
    • Trampoline (2)
  •  Handball (2)
  •  Judo (15)
  •  Kabaddi (2)
  •  Karate (15)
  •  Modern pentathlon (4)
  •  Padel (?)
  •  Rowing (14)
  •  Rugby sevens (2)
  •  Sailing (14)
  •  Sepak takraw (6)
  •  Shooting (28)
  •  Skateboarding (4)
  •  Sport climbing (6)
  •  Squash (5)
  •  Surfing (2)
  •  Table tennis (7)
  •  Taekwondo (10)
  • Tennis
    •  Soft tennis (5)
    •  Tennis (5)
  •  Triathlon (3)
  • Volleyball
    •  Beach volleyball (2)
    •  Volleyball (2)
  •  Weightlifting (16)
  •  Wrestling (18)
  •  Wushu (15)

Core sports

32 sports from the 2024 Summer Olympics + 11 other sports and disciplines.

  • Five regional sports that were nominated by each region of the Olympic Council of Asia:
  1. Wushu (East Asia)
  2. Sepak takraw (Southeast Asia)
  3. Kabaddi (South Asia)
  4. Kurash (Central Asia)
  5. Jujitsu (West Asia)
  • Three sports that were part of the 2024 Summer Olympics and are not part of the core Asian Games program:
  1. Dancesport (Breakdancing)
  2. Roller sports (Skateboarding)
  3. Surfing
  • Four sports proposed by the Olympic Council of Asia:
  1. Cricket
  2. Esports
  3. Mixed martial arts
  4. Padel

A final decision on the inclusion of cricket was scheduled for 2025, with the Asian Cricket Council having pushed for the bid and OCA President Randhir Singh was "hopeful" for it. Its inclusion would act as the Asian qualifiers event for the 2028 Summer Olympics. On 28 April, the organizing committee approved the inclusion of cricket and mixed martial arts to the programme, following a request from OCA. In addition, open water swimming was removed from the programme.


Participation

All 45 National Olympic Committees who are members of the Olympic Council of Asia are expected to send delegations.

Participating National Olympic Committees
  •  Afghanistan
  •  Bahrain
  •  Bangladesh
  •  Bhutan
  •  Brunei
  •  Cambodia
  •  China
  •  Hong Kong
  •  India
  •  Indonesia
  •  Iran
  •  Iraq
  •  Japan (host)
  •  Jordan
  •  Kazakhstan
  •  Kuwait
  •  Kyrgyzstan
  •  Laos
  •  Lebanon
  •  Macau
  •  Malaysia
  •  Maldives
  •  Mongolia
  •  Myanmar
  •  Nepal
  • Refugee Team
  •  North Korea
  •  Oman
  •  Pakistan
  •  Palestine
  •  Philippines
  •  Qatar
  •  Saudi Arabia
  •  Singapore
  •  South Korea
  •  Sri Lanka
  •  Syria
  •  Chinese Taipei
  •  Tajikistan
  •  Thailand
  •  Timor-Leste
  •  Turkmenistan
  •  United Arab Emirates
  •  Uzbekistan
  •  Vietnam
  •  Yemen

Marketing

Emblem

The emblem of the Games was unveiled during a ceremony on 1 April 2020. Each colour has its own meaning, with purple representing the iris laevigata, gold for Shachihoko, the golden tiger-fish roof ornaments which are the symbol of Nagoya Castle, and green representing environmental consciousness.

Mascot

The mascot of the Games, Honohon (Japanese: ホノホン) was unveiled on 14 July 2024. Its design is based on the shachihoko.

Motto

The official motto of the 2026 Asian Games, "Imagine One Asia" was announced on 1 April 2020 to mark six years before the opening ceremony.

Corporate sponsorship

Sponsors of the 2026 Asian Games
Prestige Partners
Official Partners
Official Sponsors
Official Suppliers

Broadcasting

In January 2025, the Aichi–Nagoya Organising Committee (AINAGOC) mentioned the "Host Broadcaster's Work" in a Q&A session. This indicates that a host broadcaster will be appointed to manage the primary coverage of the Games. The Nagoya International Exhibition Hall will serve as the Main Media Centre (MMC), which will include the Main Press Centre (MPC) and the International Broadcast Centre (IBC). However, the contract was terminated in July 2025 due to deficiencies.

Country/region Rights holder Ref
China CMG
Indonesia MNC Media
Japan JNN (TBS)
Malaysia
  • Astro
  • RTM
    • TV Okey
    • Sukan RTM
MENA Region beIN Sports
Singapore Mediacorp

See also

  • Asian Games celebrated in Japan
    • 1958 Asian Games – Tokyo
    • 1994 Asian Games – Hiroshima
  • 2026 Asian Para Games

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