2008 Asian Beach Games

I Asian Beach Games

Logo of the 2008 Asian Beach Games.
Host city	Bali, Indonesia
Motto	Inspire the World
Nations participating	41
Athletes participating	1,665
Events	71 in 19 sports
Opening ceremony	18 October
Closing ceremony	26 October
Officially opened by	Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono President of Indonesia
Athlete's Oath	Andi Ardiansyah
Judge's Oath	Pergunan Tarigan
Torch lighter	Agus Salim Taufik Hidayat Oka Sulaksana
Main venue	Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park
Website	Official website
2010  >

The 2008 Asian Beach Games, the inaugural Asian Beach Games, was held in Bali, Indonesia, from 18 to 26 October 2008. The opening ceremony was held in the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park in Nusa Dua.^[1]

Organisation

Mascot

Official mascot, jalak Bali the Bali starling

The official mascot of the First Asian Beach Games was the Bali starling (Leucopsar rothschildi), locally known as "jalak Bali", the official mascot of Bali and a bird species endemic to the island.

The bird symbolizes Bali with all its uniqueness and serves as a reminder that the bird, like Bali, is beautiful, yet sacred. It is therefore apt that the official mascot of Bali was chosen as the official mascot for the first Bali Asian Beach Games.

Torch relay

The Bali Asian Beach Games Torch Relay started on 8 October 2008 at Mrapen in Grobogan, Central Java, famous for its eternal flame. The flame was lit with the aid of natural gas.

From Mrapen, the torch was carried to Semarang, the capital city of Central Java, where the torch was carried to the Governor Office by Indonesia's famous sprinter, Suryo Agung Wibowo.

On 9 October 2008, the torch arrived in Jakarta. On the next day, the torch was paraded from the City Hall to Indonesia's Minister of Youth and Sport Office, and finally arrived at the Istana Merdeka to be given to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

On 10 October 2008, the torch headed to Bali for a nine-day inland tour across ten regions (one city and nine regencies).

More than 500 people (45 per district) were involved in the torch relay as torch bearers. They came from the sports world as local, national and international athletes, coaches and officials. More than 2,000 people participated in the parade.

The journey was a showcase of Indonesian culture to international audiences, especially Balinese traditional art, dance and music.

Opening ceremony

The Garuda Wisnu Kencana

The opening ceremony was held in the Garuda Wisnu Kencana, a great monumental cultural park in Nusa Dua, the most luxurious region in Bali.

President Yudhoyono officially opened the games when the torch reached the Garuda Wisnu Kencana.

The ceremony highlighted Indonesian cultural arts and included international performers such as Mark Lazarro from India and Christian Bautista from the Philippines, as well as famous Indonesian singers and composers, such as Reza Artamevira, Andre Hehanusa and Erwin Gutawa.

Andre Hehanusa, Christian Bautista and Mark Lazarro sang "To Be One" while the Indonesian female singer, Reza Artamevira, performed the games anthem, "Together We Inspire the World".

About 41 country leaders and several very important persons, including members of the British Royal Family and the Qatari Royal Family, attended the opening ceremony.

The 2008 Asian Beach Games were closed by Indonesia's Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, on 26 October 2008.

Sports

Participating nations

41 Asian countries participated in the games.

Calendar

October 2008	18th Sat	19th Sun	20th Mon	21st Tue	22nd Wed	23rd Thu	24th Fri	25th Sat	26th Sun	Gold medals
3x3 basketball							●	●	2	2
Beach handball	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	2		2
Beach kabaddi		●	●	●	2					2
Beach sepak takraw	●	●	●	2		●	●	2		4
Beach soccer	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1
Beach volleyball	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	2	2
Beach water polo		●	●	●	1					1
Beach woodball	●	●	●	2	2					4
Beach wrestling							2	2		4
Bodybuilding		●	6							6
Dragon boat		2	2	2						6
Jet ski						●	3	1		4
Marathon swimming								2	2	4
Paragliding			●	●	●	4	4			8
Pencak silat	●	2	●		6					8
Sailing				●	●		●	6		6
Surfing		1	1	1	1	1				5
Triathlon									2	2
Total gold medals		5	9	7	12	5	9	15	9	71
Ceremonies	OC								CC
October 2008	18th Sat	19th Sun	20th Mon	21st Tue	22nd Wed	23rd Thu	24th Fri	25th Sat	26th Sun	Gold medals

Medal table

  *   Host nation (Indonesia)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Indonesia (INA)*	23	8	20	51
2	Thailand (THA)	10	17	10	37
3	China (CHN)	6	10	7	23
4	South Korea (KOR)	4	7	10	21
5	Japan (JPN)	3	3	3	9
6	Hong Kong (HKG)	3	3	2	8
7	India (IND)	3	0	2	5
8	Vietnam (VIE)	2	5	3	10
9	Myanmar (MYA)	2	3	0	5
10	Malaysia (MAS)	2	2	6	10
11	Chinese Taipei (TPE)	2	2	3	7
	Pakistan (PAK)	2	2	3	7
13	Syria (SYR)	2	0	0	2
14	Kuwait (KUW)	1	2	0	3
15	Kazakhstan (KAZ)	1	1	2	4
16	United Arab Emirates (UAE)	1	1	1	3
17	Singapore (SGP)	1	0	2	3
18	Afghanistan (AFG)	1	0	1	2
19	Mongolia (MGL)	1	0	0	1
	Oman (OMA)	1	0	0	1
21	Philippines (PHI)	0	2	8	10
22	Brunei (BRU)	0	2	3	5
23	Jordan (JOR)	0	1	0	1
24	Bahrain (BRN)	0	0	1	1
	Bangladesh (BAN)	0	0	1	1
	Macau (MAC)	0	0	1	1
	Maldives (MDV)	0	0	1	1
Totals (27 nations)		71	71	90	232

References

External links

• Bali 2008 – 1st Asian Beach Games – Olympic Council of Asia official site
• Official website
• The Big Picture – The Boston Globe