The Winter Asian Games, Asia’s winter sports festival, will raise its grand curtain in Harbin, the capital of China’s Heilongjiang Province, renowned as the Ice City, after an eight-year wait.
The 2025 Harbin Winter Asian Games commence with the opening ceremony at 9 p.m. on Friday at the Harbin International Convention Exhibition and Sports Center. The event will start eight days of intense competition until February 14.
This is the ninth edition of the Winter Asian Games, the first since the 2017 Sapporo Games, which ended an eight-year hiatus.
Initially, the ninth Games were scheduled for 2021, but difficulties in selecting a host city and the spread of COVID-19 led to skipping a cycle.
This is the second time Harbin has hosted the Winter Asian Games, the first being the third edition, which took place in 1996, 29 years ago.
The Harbin Winter Asian Games have adopted the slogan “Dream of Winter, Love among Asia.” Key events, including the torch lighting and opening ceremony, remain secret, but the organizing committee is expected to reveal details on the ceremony day.
The Harbin Games will be the largest in history. 1,275 athletes from 34 countries will compete for 64 gold medals across 11 events.
One of the highlights of the opening ceremony will be the entrance of the participating teams. Afghanistan will be the first to enter, while the South Korean delegation, led by flag bearers Lee Chong Min (ice hockey) and Kim Eun Ji (curling), will enter 13th after Kazakhstan.
South Korea is sending a delegation of 222 members (148 athletes, 52 event officials, and 22 headquarters officials) to compete for second place in the overall rankings.
After participating in a comprehensive winter sports event for the first time in seven years since the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, North Korea will enter fifth. North Korea is competing with only three figure skating athletes in this event.
China’s host nation will be the 34th and final country to enter, after which Chinese President Xi Jinping will declare the Games open.
Foreign leaders, including Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, will attend the opening ceremony. South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik is also expected to attend.
The ceremony will conclude with the torch lighting, the event’s highlight. The torch arrived in Harbin on Monday and has been traveling through the city to build excitement. It will then be moved to the main cauldron to illuminate Harbin throughout the Games.
China has emphasized eco-friendliness and low carbon emissions in its recent international multi-sport events. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics featured a small and modest flame, while the 2023 Hangzhou Summer Asian Games introduced a digital torch.
The organizing committee is taking extra precautions regarding the torch-lighting method for the Harbin Games to prevent leaks.
Following the opening ceremony, the medal competition will officially begin. On Saturday, the day after the opening, 17 gold medals will be awarded. South Korea will begin its medal hunt in short-track speed skating, where it is regarded as the world’s strongest, as well as in speed skating, freestyle skiing, halfpipe, and alpine skiing.
The closing ceremony will be held on February 14 at the Harbin International Convention Exhibition and Sports Center. The next edition of the Games is scheduled for 2029 in Neom, Saudi Arabia.