The floodlights switch on at Paloma Mizuho Stadium at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and the largest multi-sport event in Asia this year officially begins. The Asian Games opening ceremony launches the 20th edition of the Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, kicking off 16 days of competition that will decide 369 gold medals across 43 sports. More than 11,000 athletes from 45 nations and regions are taking part, according to organizers. Japan is hosting for the third time, after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994. It is also the first Asian Games held before full crowds since the Tokyo Olympics played out in empty stadiums five years ago.

A bumpy road to opening night

Japan's reputation for precision and efficiency has taken a knock in the buildup to the ceremony. Organizers chose not to build a dedicated athletes' village, a cost-cutting move that left athletes and officials scattered across hotel rooms, temporary wooden containers and a cruise ship docked in Nagoya bay, reported by Reuters on Saturday.

Several national delegations, including the hosts, have found the arrangements below par. There were mix-ups and double-bookings at check-in, according to Reuters. South Korea complained that the containers at Garden Pier were too cramped for its basketball players. India's powerful cricket board took matters into its own hands, booking its star-studded men's team into a separate hotel after organizers offered a tight allocation of beds. Delegations have also reported long waits to register on arrival, plus buses that turned up late or delivered athletes to the wrong venues. With the Asian Games opening ceremony only hours away, the complaints have put organizers firmly on the defensive.

The Olympic Council of Asia, which runs the quadrennial Games, acknowledged the problems on Saturday but played them down as teething difficulties. The Asian Games opening ceremony is now the organizers' best chance to reset the narrative and give the Games some positive momentum heading into the first full week of competition.

What the next 16 days hold

The programme runs from September 19 to October 4 across a network of 54 competition venues, under the motto "Imagine One Asia" and a mascot named HONOHON. OCA officials have spent the week urging delegations to stay upbeat, calling for a unified approach as the Games begin, Inside The Games reported. Competition actually started before the ceremony: men's basketball tipped off on September 10 and the women's tournament began on September 17, a common scheduling move at major events so long tournaments can finish on time. Six sports are making their Asian Games debut this time: freestyle BMX, mixed martial arts, padel, surfing, teqball and virtual taekwondo. Two sports sit far from Nagoya entirely: swimming and diving moved to the Tokyo Aquatics Center and equestrian to Tokyo Equestrian Park because the local pools did not meet competition standards.

India arrived in Nagoya with momentum after a record 107 medals, including 28 gold, at the previous edition in Hangzhou. Indian Olympic Association president P.T. Usha attended the official welcome reception on September 19, where she met OCA president Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani. Results were already coming in hours before the Asian Games opening ceremony: the women's cricket team began its campaign and Quimcy Dsouza reached a teqball bronze-medal match.

For Japan, the Games are a chance to show what a post-pandemic mega-event looks like with fans in the stands. Five years after the Tokyo Olympics went ahead without spectators, organizers are counting on a smooth Asian Games opening ceremony and packed venues to steady a buildup that drew more headlines for logistical complaints than for sporting storylines. Ticketed sessions for the biggest finals are expected to draw the largest crowds of the fortnight.

The smallest delegation in Nagoya may get one of the loudest receptions. The OCA Refugee Team consists of just two athletes, both competing in taekwondo, and will march in the parade after Yemen and before host nation Japan, the Olympic Council of Asia said in a statement. If either athlete wins gold, the OCA flag will be raised and the OCA anthem will play at the medal ceremony.

The Asian Games opening ceremony begins at 6 p.m. Japan time, which is 9 a.m. GMT, and competition runs through October 4. The fifth Asian Para Games follow at the same stadium from October 18 to 24.