Three Countries to Change Flags for Opening Ceremony in Asian Games 2018

Jakarta, MINA – Three participating countries at the 2018 Asian Games will change the flags they will use for the opening ceremony at Bung Karno Sports Stadium here on Saturday.

“Kuwait will use its own flag instead of the flag of the Olympic Council of Asia as earlier planned. South Korea and North Korea, on the other hand, will use the same flag; they will unite under a Korean flag,” director of media and public relations of the Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC) Danny Buldansyah said here on Friday.

He said the flag to be jointly used by South and North Korean athletes was a blue flag with a picture of the Korean Peninsula on it, asiangames2018.id reported.

“However, there will be three different flags at the Asian Games Athletes Village for the countries, consisting of a South Korean flag, a North Korean flag and the [unified] Korean flag,” he said.

Buldansyah said the opening ceremony of the 18th Asian Games scheduled for Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra, would involve a concert displaying the diversity of Indonesian culture and natural resources, as reflected in the tournament’s slogan “Energy of Asia”.

“The stage for the opening program weighs 600 tons and there will be more than 5,000 people involved,” he said.

Buldansyah said he did not know yet who would carry the Indonesian flag at the parade or who would light the cauldron.

“I advise spectators to be at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium at around 3p.m. considering possible traffic jams along the way to Senayan,” he said.

On Thursday (Aug. 16), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially lifted its sanction on Kuwait after the contingent from the Middle East accepted the sanction for interfering in sports regulations in October 2015.

Due to the sanction, Kuwaiti athletes participated in international events under the IOC flag, including their participation in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.(L/R04/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)