The handover of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) flag officially took place in the closing ceremony of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 in Nagoya, Japan on 4 October 2026. This was in recognition of the fact that Qatar will be responsible for hosting the 21st Asian Games in Doha in 2030. Qatar also launched the Doha 2030 identity and motto, “The Games We Live For,” in the next stage of preparations for the multi-sport games.
Handover Ceremony of the Asian Games
OCA flag handover ceremony took place during the closing ceremony of the games at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
- The handover of the OCA flag to Qatar was received by Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar.
- This was done under the supervision of Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Olympic Council of Asia and Qatar Olympic Committee.
- Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain, OCA Vice President for Doha 2030 and Qatar Olympic Committee Secretary-General was part of the organizing structure.
- Mutaz Essa Barshim, Olympic and Asian high-jump champion also attended the Doha 2030 launch ceremony.
New Identity and Slogan of Doha 2030 Revealed
The new identity of the Doha 2030 Asian Games was revealed by Qatar during the handover ceremony.
The slogan of the Asian Games is “The Games We Live For.” The new identity of the Doha 2030 Asian Games features the sun logo of OCA incorporated into the ‘O’ letter of the word DOHA. It connects the name of the city to the Asian Games Movement in relation to the heritage of Qatar and future generations.
The slogan reflects the aspirations of the athletes, countries, families, fans and communities and symbolizes the whole human story connected with the sport.
Second Asian Games to be Held in Doha
Doha will become the second-time host city for the Asian Games.
The capital of Qatar held the 15th Asian Games in 2006. Doha became the 2030 host for the 21st Asian Games. Thus, Qatar’s capital city will hold the continental games after the interval of 24 years since the last one. In December 2020, Doha was chosen as the 2030 host during the 39th General Assembly of OCA in Muscat.
Doha’s 2030 profile on the OCA website features 45 National Olympic Committees for the 21st Asian Games.
Existing Sports Infrastructure
The original 2030 Asian Games bid made by Doha emphasized the existing sports infrastructure and small scale of hosting plans. As the OCA pointed out, Doha’s bid had sports stadiums ready, which made it more suitable for hosting.
Previous experiences of Qatar in organizing international sporting events, such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is another proof of an established infrastructure base for future sporting events.
What about the Proposed 2031 Change?
There is a significant scheduling issue related to the 2030 Games.
In February 2026, the OCA Executive Board accepted the proposal to change the Asian Games cycle in such a way that it would generally take place one year earlier than the Olympic Games.
In this connection, it was declared that Doha Games would be moved from 2030 to 2031, whereas 2034 Riyadh Games would shift to 2035.
Nevertheless, the latest closing-ceremony statements of the OCA and Qatar regarding Doha and the 21st Asian Games remain to point that the games would take place in 2030.
Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Handed Over the Torch
In the closing ceremony, the Asian Games 2026 ended on October 4, 2026. The president of OCA, Sheikh Joaan, officially announced that the Games were over and called Asian athletes to come back to Doha for the upcoming edition.
During the handover, there was a torch and a flag related to the first Asian Games that took place in New Delhi in 1951.
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