Asian Games 2026: Dates, venues, sports and a growing accommodation crisis

Asian Games 2026: Dates, venues, sports and a growing accommodation crisisMore than 11,000 athletes from 45 countries will compete at world’s second-largest multisport event beginning on September 19.The 2026 Asian Games return to Japan this September bigger than ever, with several sports making their debut at the 20th milestone edition.More than 11,000 athletes from 45 countries will compete at the world’s second-largest multisport event.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4What’s the Asian Games accommodation crisis, and where will athletes stay?list 2 of 4Alex Eala firm on Asian Games participation despite threat of WTA finelist 3 of 4Record-breaking Rumesh’s javelins broken during travel ahead of Asian Gameslist 4 of 4North Korea thrash Bangladesh 10-0 in Asian Games women’s footballend of listJapan will play host for the third time, following Tokyo 1958 and Hiroshima 1994, which saw their biggest medal haul of 218 medals.Here’s everything to know about the quadrennial continental event:When and where are the games taking place?Officially known as Aichi-Nagoya 2026, the games will be held in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture and city of Nagoya from September 19 until October 4, although the football and basketball competitions have already begun.The record-breaking programme will be held across 54 competition venues, including some like the Tokyo Aquatics Centre and Equestrian Park used for the Tokyo-2020-olympics" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="175754" data-entity-type="event">Tokyo 2020 Olympics.What sports are being played, and which make their debut?A total of 43 sports will be played across 71 disciplines and 469 events.Six sports make their Asian Games debut: surfing, freestyle BMX, mixed martial arts, padel, teqball, and virtual taekwondo.The full list features: artistic swimming, archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, 3×3 basketball, boxing, breaking, canoe slalom, canoe sprint, cricket, cycling (road), cycling (track), mountain bike, BMX racing, BMX freestyle, diving, equestrian, esport, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics (artistic), gymnastics (rhythmic), gymnastics (trampoline), handball, hockey, judo, ju-jitsu, kabaddi, karate, kurash, mixed martial arts, pentathlon, padel, rowing, rugby sevens, sailing, sepak takraw, shooting, skateboarding, softball, surfing, squash, swimming, sport climbing, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, soft tennis, triathlon, volleyball, beach volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, wrestling, wushu.North Korea’s Ri Song-a, right, celebrates after scoring during the 2026 Asian Games women’s football match against Bangladesh at Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka on September 14, 2026 [AFP]When is the opening ceremony?The opening ceremony will take place at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya from 6pm local time (09:00 GMT).