Ready for a golden moment

Boasting ready-made facilities and an efficient operational plan, Harbin is confident it can deliver a sustainable and memorable edition of the Games with strong Chinese characteristics and Asian style, said organizers.

"Our preparatory work has entered the final stretch of pre-Games testing and operation. Everything is processing well and on track. We are committed to hosting a world-class event representing Asian spirit and Chinese style to promote the unique charm of winter sports," Yu Hongtao, Harbin's Party chief and a vice-president of the organizing committee, said during a chef de mission seminar last month.

Officials and representatives of the OCA and 32 NOCs took part in the assembly of chefs de mission — team managers of participating delegations, and none of them left disappointed.

The Chinese host's readiness achieved on a tighter-than-normal schedule and organizational expertise have impressed delegation chiefs.

"They have the knowledge, the wherewithal and the government support. And they have the experience from the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 and also the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, which have brought a lot of expertise in organizing international sporting events in China. So I'm sure we will see a very high-standard Games here in Harbin," said Vinod Kumar Tiwari, the deputy director general of OCA.

Due to the pandemic-enforced delays on the bidding procedure, Harbin was only confirmed host of the 2025 edition by the OCA one year ago, on a much shorter notice compared to previous hosts that were decided at least five years in advance.

As the host of the following 2029 edition of the Asian Winter Games, Saudi Arabia sent its chef de mission Ahmed Bin Dhuwayhi to the seminar, hoping to learn from Harbin's best practices to promote ice and snow sports in his own country for the first major winter sports event to be held in the western Asian region.