6th Asian Beach Games 2020 in "Hawaii of China"

The OCA’s sixth edition of the Asian Beach Games will be held at the tourist city of Sanya, Hainan Island, China from Saturday, November 28 to Sunday, December 6, 2020 .

Sanya is blessed with golden beaches and sparkling seas as well as a tropical climate, leading to the nickname of the "Hawaii of China".

Indeed, on a visit in February 2019, the Chairman of the OCA Coordination Committee, Raja Randhir Singh, described Sanya as a "hidden treasure" as it is well known in China but relatively unknown as an Asian or international tourist destination.

The Olympic Council of Asia began the Asian Beach Games in 2008. The first host city was Bali, Indonesia, followed by Muscat, Oman in 2010, Haiyang, China in 2012, Phuket, Thailand in 2014 and Danang, Vietnam in 2016, after which the OCA decided to hold the event every four years rather than every two.

The beach games were an instant hit with athletes, officials, spectators and host cities alike due to the low costs of staging the games and the high potential and opportunity for promotion and tourism.

The games blend into the natural surroundings of beach and sea, requiring only temporary spectator seating and accompanying venue infrastructure such as a tented village and kiosks. The mini stadiums can be set up just a few weeks before the games and removed immediately after competition, returning the landscape to its original pristine condition and leaving no carbon footprint.

The OCA also encourages the host city to hold two or three sports in the same venue to cut down on costs and to accommodate the athletes and officials as near to their own specific sports venues as possible to reduce transportation logistics.

This is another advantage of the beach games concept, as the hotels are already there and the professional service staff already in place and with the necessary experience of hosting large groups.

There is no need to construct an athletes’ village as all the key personnel – athletes, team officials, coaches and managers, technical officials and media – can be accommodated in existing hotels. This, in itself, adds massive value to the host city’s tourism industry.

Sanya is already well established as a tourist destination for China and welcomes some 22 million visitors each year. In return, the Asian Beach Games will benefit from this on-site visitor presence and interest.

For the 6th ABG, Sanya will use three beaches for the sports programme, including the 27km-long Sanya Bay. They will also use Sanya River for the spectator-friendly dragon boat competition.

It is also planned to hold the opening and closing ceremonies on the beach to highlight the ocean and coastline, promoting stunning Sanya to Asia and the world through TV images and photography.

The sports proposed for competition are:

1 Aquatics – open water swimming, beach water polo

2 Beach Athletics

3 3x3 Beach Basketball

4 Beach Handball

5 Beach Kabaddi

6 Beach Soccer

7 Beach Volleyball

8 Beach Woodball

9 Beach Wrestling

10 Aquathlon (swimming and running)

11 Dragon Boat