Dreams of 4.5 Billion Becoming One Asia

The Incheon Asian Games kick off today, Sept. 19. Incheon City is focusing on overseas marketing and public relations with the opening around the corner.

The Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee (Chairman Kim Young-soo) signed a ticket sale contract with Taobao in Beijing in mid-July. The signing ceremony was attended by Hyun Bin, who was appointed as the honorary ambassador for the Asian Games on July 4. The celebrity, who is enjoying huge popularity in China, delivered the online Smart Torch to the president of the Chinese online shopping mall so that ticket sales could be successful in China. The organizing committee is expecting that the contract with Taobao, which has more than 500 million members in China, will contribute greatly to increasing the Chinese people’s interest in the Incheon Asian Games.

First Smart Torch Relay in the History of Asian Games

The purpose of the unprecedented online torch relay is to attract more people to the international sports event and better promote it all across the world. The relay can be joined on smartphones and tablet PCs.

The Smart Torch Relay application is available in four languages – Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese – and can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, Kakao Talk, Line, Weibo, and Wechat. Also, it can be relayed via near-field communication. The organizing committee is aiming for 10 million users to download the application.

In addition, the committee is planning on an online torch relay at the same time as that of the offline torch that starts in August. It is trying to publicize the event by cooperating with more portal sites and SNS channels.

Promotion Getting Closer to the Public

The Incheon International Airport has been utilized as a tool for promotion, too. For instance, promo videos have been shown on Media Walls, U-Signage, and Multi Cubes at the airport to achieve a high publicity effect. Publicity towers have been built at the City Hall subway station and the Seoul Plaza in Seoul, too.

The Asian Games Promotion Team is doing a lot as well to draw the attention of the public. It is traveling across the country from August 8 to 28 with a group called the Young Supporters in order to raise awareness by means of flash mobs, street promotion campaigns, and JYJ’s theme song titled Only One.

Elementary school teachers in Incheon and its partner cities have been appointed as publicity committee members, too. They visit 89 primary schools until late July to teach the Only One dance and conduct quiz events.

Meet the Future of Asia in Incheon

The opening and closing ceremonies of the Incheon Asian Games share the theme of “Dreams of 4.5 Billion Becoming One Asia.” The opening event will be held on the theme of “Meet the Future of Asia,” and the closing ceremony’s title is “Asia Will Remember Incheon.”

The opening show takes place at 6:00pm, September 19, at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium. Soprano Jo Su-mi and a choir of 919 Incheon citizens willsing the Asiad Song, which is based on lyrics dedicated to the Games by poet Ko Un. Then a boy will drive a hoop to symbolize the rendezvous between the past, the present, and the future of Asia.

The opening and closing shows will be decorated with a number of artists and celebrities. World stars like JYJ, Psy, and Big Bang will join soprano Jo Su-mi and renowned actress Lee Young-ae, actor Jang Dong-gun, Chinese pianist Lang Lang, and many more.

The closing ceremony, scheduled for 6:00pm, October 4, will feature traditional choreographic and martial arts of Korea along with highlight footage of the 16-day event. The athletes will march with their national flags before each closing declaration, flag transfer, and cultural performance by the next hosting country. Then, the torch will be put out, and the musicians will stage colorful shows to mark the closing of the event.

In the ceremony, the Incheon Asian Games Young Supporters will welcome the athletes. The supporters will represent citizens of Incheon, who will root for them regardless of nationality throughout the 16-day period. The Young Supporters will enter the stadium with the athletes to symbolize a united Asia.

Asian Culinary Culture Festival Adding Flavor to Sports Event

The Incheon Asian Games is also expected to be a venue where cuisines of a wide variety of countries will be paraded. The Asian Culinary Culture Festival inviting restaurants and master chefs from 10 Asian countries will provide visitors with excellent things to see and taste.

The Luxury Cuisine Hall, Korean Cuisine Hall, Event Hall and the like are set up in the plaza in the vicinity of the stadium. The recommendation of restaurant and chef invitees is underway with foreign cultural centers, tourism offices, and embassies in Korea. The organizing committee is going to donate the profits for children in underdeveloped Asian countries.

Safest Asian Games in History

The committee will cooperate with the National Intelligence Service, the military, and the police and fire authorities for seamless safety and security measures as well. A large-scale anti-terror drill took place from 11:00am, August 6 at the main stadium in this context, joined by 700 personnel from nine organizations. During training, simultaneous terrorist attacks against the main sites were assumed, and the joint response system against serious loss of life was checked, along with evacuation plans and tactics for preventing the approach of unmanned aerial vehicles.

The committee is going to run advanced security devices such as X-rays, MD, vehicle inspection equipment, and RFID systems, and provide evacuation guides and safety education for the visitors. Videos informing everything about where and how to escape in the event of an emergency have already been made for each stadium, and security education for the staff has continued.

Top-notch medical services have been prepared as well. A total of 74 official hospitals and 1,876 personnel will be in operation for medical services, healthcare, hygiene control, and doping control. 105 dispensaries are planned to be set up in the athletes’ village, stadiums, and other locations in the complex.