Three keys to success for the 2018 Asian Games

Jakarta-wapresri.go.id. When leading the preparatory meeting of the 2018 Asian Games on Wednesday (15 March), Vice President Jusuf Kalla who is also the chairman of the steering committee of the 2018 Asian Games said, Indonesia will be successful in hosting the biggest quadrennial event in the region if it gives a major concern on the infrastructure, organization, and achievement.

Looking at history, the Vice President noted, sporting events held excessively has often become one of the causes of bankruptcy to the host country. This, he continued, can be seen for example in Greece and Brazil after both countries hosting the Olympic Games.

Chairman of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), the Vice President said, has also given directives that the Asian Games should be carried out in a cost-effective way so that many countries could host the Asian Games in the future.

“The 2018 Asian Games organizers should stick to the limits of reasonableness, without eliminating the attention on the achievement,” said the Vice President in a meeting held at Gedung Graha of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Senayan, Jakarta.

On the occasion, he also asked to reduce the budget for the event from around 8 trillion rupiah (USD600 million) to around 4.5 trillion rupiah (USD337 million), given the current financial condition of the country.

“One of the ways is by reducing the number of sports contested. This is not debatable! There must be 36 sports contested as a maximum, similar to the [previous] Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, so that we can reduce the number of athletes up to 1,500 people,” the Vice President affirmed.

In response, the Minister of Youth and Sports Imam Nahrawi promised to renegotiate this with the OCA. Sport branches contested in the Asian Games are stipulated in an agreement between OCA and the host country. However, the agreement is still open to amendment until August 2017.

The Vice President further warned, the organization of any sporting event is prone to manipulation and fault procedure that could lead to legal issues.

“For that reason, we need the assistance of the Supreme Agency (BPK), the National Procurement Agency (LKPP), and other offices. I want everyone free of any procedural errors,” he said.

Closing the meeting, the Vice President hoped that the Asian Games could be well organized in a cost-effective way, yet remain festive and joyous.

As is known, Indonesia is designated as the host of 2018 Asian Games which will be held on August 18 to September 2, 2018. The appointment is made after Vietnam conveyed its inability to host the quadrennial event. In the sporting event, Indonesia aims to rank in the 8^th to 10^th position with a minimum of 13 to 20 gold medals.

Also present in the meeting were the Coordinating Minister of Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani, BPK chairman Ardan Adiperdana, LKPP chairman Agus Prabowo, and the Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC) chairman Erick Thohir.