Jakarta, July 3 (Antara) - In order to promote the 18th Asian Games 2018, Indonesia on Sunday organized a fun run race in Jakarta and Palembang cities which will host the biggest Asian sporting events from August 18 to September 20, 2018.
Some eight thousand residents in the two cities took part in the fun run which was the 27th fun run event after 26 other Asian countries had also previously organized the same events to promote the Asian Games.
"Thank God, the promotion is being done well and made for a warming up to create a 'fever' for the Asian Games. We have been launching a popularization program among the Indonesian people as a message that we are going to host the biggest Asian sporting events next August," Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani said when flagging of the race at the Plaza Barat of the Bung Karno Sports Complex in Jakarta on Sunday..
Hence, Minister Puan Maharani called on the people to continue to echo the Asian Games 2018 which will be held in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta and South Sumatran provincial capital of Palembang.
She said that after 56 years, Indonesia is again entrusted to host the 2018 Asian Games. The 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, is a momentum for Indonesia to show achievements, a great culture and advancement. "With the energy of mutual cooperation of all components of Indonesian society, we hope we can make the Asian Games 2018 a success," the minister said.
"We hope we could give encouragement to the people of Indonesia to participate in promoting the 2018 Asian Games," said Minister Maharani.
On this occasion, the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture also hoped that athletes would continue to prepare for the match to make achievements in the 2018 Asian Games.
"This is the work of all the people of Indonesia. The victory of the Indonesian team at the 2018 Asian Games is Indonesia's victory," said the minister.
Therefore, she said, the government is organizing various promotional events to create an Asian Games fever. The enthusiasm of fun run participants was shown in the big number of fun runners which in Jakarta reached about five thousand and in Palembang about three thousand.
She said in addition to Jakarta, fun run is also held in Palembang followed by about three thousand participants. Besides showing the readiness of Indonesia as the host, the fun run is expected to also enliven the Asian Games.
The fun run in Palembang was flagged off by South Sumatra governor Alex Noerdin who said it was organized in the run-up to the holding of the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang next month.
Governor Noerdin expressed hoped that the locals would take active part in making the Asian Games 2018 a success. "We have to make preparations and be ready so that we would become a good host. This is a valuable moment because there is no guarantee that Indonesia would host it again in the coming one hundred years," the governor said.
Indonesia will host the Asian Games 2018 next month after hosting the games for the first time in 1962.
The launching of the event which took place in the Jakabaring Sport City (JSC) complex was also attended by South Sumatra Police chief Zulkarnain Adinegara, representatives of the Olympic Committee of Asia (OCA) and the Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC).
"The fun run is aimed at popularizing the Asian Games 2018 and to provide better atmosphere of the biggest Asian sporting events for the people," Muddai Madang, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI), said.
Madang said popularization of the Asian Games became the attention of OCA so that it is also carried out in 29 cities across Asia.
Indonesia has been intensively organizing a popularization program since it was assigned to host the Asian Games 2018 at the end of 2014. "Most of the people of South Sumatra have so far been well informed that their provinces will host the events yet we continue to promote it because many have not yet known what the Asian Games is, while in fact the Asian Games is a big event, it is only a strip below the Olympic Games," Madang said.
As a host, Palembang is trying its best to finish a number of supporting infrastructure projects such as the Light Rail Transit (LRT) which is expected to be completed later this month.
Road infrastructure within the Palembang city is also being improved, including beautifying the Palembang City icon, namely the Ampera Bridge.
Besides the fun run events in Palembang and Jakarta, an Asian Games torch festival was also held in Jakarta on Sunday.
Jakarta residents enthusiastically witnessed the Asian Games torch festival where the AG torch replica was carried around villages in East Jakarta's Duren Sawit Sub-district. The convoy which carried the torch replica was seen off from the premise of the Duren Sawit Sub-district's head office and marched through villages in the sub-district.
In every village office, the torchbearer was replaced by a succeeding runner who continued the procession to other villages. The torch festival convoy was escorted by police officers, sub-district officials and medical personnel from local health centers and from the Jakarta Health Office.
At some points school-uniformed students awaited the torch replica bearer's convoy to pass by and welcomed them with fluttering the red-and-white flags.
The torch festival is a series of events held on July 1, 2018 in East and South Jakarta, on July 8 in West Jakarta and Central Jakarta as well as on July 15 in North Jakarta and Thousand Islands.***4*** (A014/H-YH )(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 03-07-2018 00:15:5 |
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