2018 Asian Games

The 2018 Asian Games (Indonesian: Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or Asian Games 2018), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (Indonesian: Pesta Olahraga Asia ke-18), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 2018 in Jakarta and Palembang.

For the first time, the Summer Asian Games were co-hosted by two regions; the Indonesian capital of Jakarta (which was hosting the Games for the first time since 1962), and Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province. Events were held in and around the two cities, including venues in Bandung and the provinces of West Java and Banten. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Games were held at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. The Games were originally awarded to Hanoi, Vietnam, but withdrew in 2014 due to budgetary concerns and other factors.

Several non-Olympic events were trimmed from the event programme, but several new disciplines being introduced at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (including 3-on-3 basketball) were added. Esports and canoe polo were also contested as demonstration sports.

China led the medal tally for the tenth consecutive time. North and South Korea fielded a unified team during the opening ceremony and selected events, and also won their first-ever gold medal as a unified team at a multi-sport event. 6 world, 18 Asian and 86 Asian Games records were broken during the Games, while Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee was announced as the most valuable player.

The OCA originally planned to hold these Games in 2019 rather than 2018, so that Asian Games would be held exactly a year before the 2020 Summer Olympics instead of the same year as the 2018 Winter Olympics. After they were awarded to Indonesia, the OCA backtracked on these plans and kept the Games in 2018, so that they would not interfere with the 2019 Indonesian general election.

Hanoi, Vietnam was originally selected to be the host after they won the bid against two other candidates, Surabaya and Dubai. They were awarded the winning bid on 8 November 2012, with 29 votes against Surabaya's 14 votes. Dubai pulled out at the last minute, instead announcing their intention to focus on future bids. The UAE's National Olympic Committee's vice-president denied any pullout and claimed that Dubai "did not apply for hosting 2019 Asian Games" and had "only considered" doing so.

However, in March 2014, there were some concerns about Vietnam's ability to host. These included concerns over whether the anticipated budget of US$150 million was realistic. There were claims that the government would eventually spend over US$300 million. In addition, critics were concerned that several stadiums built in conjunction with the 2003 Southeast Asian Games had not been utilized since. Former chairman of the Vietnam Olympic Committee Ha Quang Du also claimed that hosting the Asian Games would not boost tourism in Vietnam.

On 17 April 2014, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng officially announced Hanoi's withdrawal from hosting, citing unpreparedness and economic recession as the main reasons for the withdrawal, saying "they have left the country unable to afford the construction of facilities and venues". Many Vietnamese people supported the decision to withdraw. No penalty was imposed for the withdrawal.