The Asian Games was declared open by Indonesia's President Joko Widodo late on Saturday during a colourful opening ceremony in Jakarta dominated by the joint march of North and South Korea. A burst of fireworks followed the announcement, marking the start of the two-week tournament to be held in Jakarta and Palembang in Sumatra. The ceremony stage -- with features of 120-metre length, 30-metre width and 26-metre height -- showcased a towering mountain as its background, accompanied by plants and flowers unique to Indonesia. Commonwealth Games gold medallist Neeraj Chopra was India's flag-bearer in the opening ceremony. The Indian sports ministry had cleared an 804-member Indian contingent, including 572 athletes, for the Asian Games . The sporting extravaganza will see around 10,000 athletes from 45 countries compete in 58 games.

Highlights of 2018 Asian Games Opening Ceremony, straight from Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta

19:53 IST: Thank you for staying with us for the live updates. Please join us again tomorrow for the live blog updates from the first day of the 2018 Asian Games.

19:53 IST: The opening ceremony comes to a close.

19:50 IST: And we are now to the final performance of the night.

19:40 IST: Indonesian badminton player Lucia Francisca Susy Susanti lights the Asian Games torch after which the tournament officially gets underway.

19:35 IST: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also wished the Indian team.

Asian Games in Indonesia begin tonight. Good wishes to all 572 members of the Indian contingent in 36 disciplines. May you do well over the next 15 days. Bring back laurels and glory for yourselves, and the country — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) August 18, 2018

19:33 IST: India's sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore also wished luck to India's Asian Games 2018 participants.

As the @asiangames2018 begin, ALL THE BEST to our contingent in Jakarta. Gold and glory await you, champs. Make us all proud! #AsianGames2018 — Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) August 18, 2018

19:32 IST: India's Prime Minister extended his greetings to the Indian athletes.

Best wishes to the Indian contingent for the @asiangames2018, which are being held in Indonesia. We are extremely proud of our athletes and I am sure they will give their best through the games. #AsianGames2018 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 18, 2018

19:24 IST: Indonesian jazz pianist Joey Alexander enthralled the audience with his spell-binding performance.

19:14 IST: Cultural performances on display at the moment.

19:00 IST: The ceremony show begins after the Protocol segment got over.

18:52 IST: Indonesia President Joko Widodo declares the games open.

18:45 IST: Indonesia's flag is brought on stage by Paskibra (Flag Hoisting Troop).

Indonesia's flag is brought on stage by Paskibra (Flag Hoisting Troop). #OpeningAG2018 #AsianGames2018 pic.twitter.com/ChELnRWQtR — Asian Games 2018 (@asiangames2018) August 18, 2018

18:35 IST: Indonesian singer-songwriter Tulus is singing the national anthem.

18:33 IST: Indonesian's national anthem being played after the flag hoisting ceremony.

Tulus sings the Indonesia national anthem, "Indonesia Raya", with the entire stadium singing along! #OpeningAG2018 #AsianGames2018 pic.twitter.com/lgiYKeOaqq — Asian Games 2018 (@asiangames2018) August 18, 2018

18:30 IST: Indonesian singer Via Vallen is crooning to her hit singles. Via performed on the song - Meraih Bintang, the official theme song of the Asian Games 2018.

18:25 IST: The Parade of Nations comes to a close.

18:22 IST: And the last country are the host nation Indonesia. A rousing reception for their team from the spectators.

18:21 IST: Vietnam and Yemen are the next countries.

18:20 IST: Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor Leste and United Arab Emirates are the next three to march into the stadium.

18:15 IST: Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Chinese Taipei are the next to march out.

18:13 IST: The two Korean nations will compete together in three disciplines namely lightweight rowing, dragon boat racing and basketball.

18:11 IST: Qatar, the former host nation, are marching in the stadium.

18:10 IST: Nepal, Oman and Pakistan are out in the middle now.

18:06 IST: Malaysia, Myanmar and Mongolia make way to the stadium. Mongolia are the nation to watch out for in the wresting and weightlifting events.

18:05 IST: Laos, Macau and China receive loud cheers from the crowd.

18:03 IST: Over 6000 athletes marching today. We have reached the half-way mark of the athletes march.

18:02 IST: Kyrgystan are the next nation to make their way to the stadium.

18:01 IST: HISTORIC! This is a special moment. Korea unified at the Asian Games. They will compete as separate nations in different sports though.

One by one, athletes walk the stage. This is truly becoming the melting pot for countries all over Asia to celebrate the love of game and friendship! Has your country graced the stage yet? Retweet if they have! #OpeningAG2018 #AsianGames2018 — Asian Games 2018 (@asiangames2018) August 18, 2018

18:00 IST: Jordan, Kazakhstan are led by their respective flag bearers followed by Korea.

17:58 IST: Iran and Japan are the next two teams to follow.

17:55 IST: After Hong Kong China and China, it is India's turn to make their way into the stadium. India is led by their flag-bearer and CWG 2018 gold medal winner Neerak Chopra.

17:51 IST: Maldives, Brunei, Combodia teams make their way into the stadium now.

17:49 IST: Afghanistan is the 1st of the 49 nations to begin their march. Bahrain;s participants follow next. Bangladesh are the third country.

17:48 IST: Athletes now begin their march amid loud and thunderous cheers from the crowd.

17:45 IST: The visuals from the stadium are simply breathtaking. A visual treat for everyone. Children are performing in unison leaving everyone stunned. A showcase of talent and a brief insight on what's in store for the next fortnight.

17:40 IST: Indonesia President Joko Widodo makes way to the stage in style. He reached the stage on a motorcycle leaving the spectators in awe.

President of Indonesia, @jokowi arrives at the #AsianGames2018 Opening Ceremony in the most spectacular way! Watch the show at https://t.co/qVN2hgr1b3 — Asian Games 2018 (@asiangames2018) August 18, 2018

17:32 IST: The opening ceremony begins.

March to victory!

Indian contingent produced a stellar show at the 2018 CWG, where @Pvsindhu1 was the flag-bearer. Now it's time for @Neeraj_chopra1 to take on the guard for the opening ceremony of the 18th #AsianGames2018 at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium! #IndiaontheRise pic.twitter.com/usg22fCCDN — BAI Media (@BAI_Media) August 18, 2018

17:28 IST: The 2018 Asian games will see 45 countries participating. It includes 43 other nations, hosts Indonesia and a unified Korea (North and South).

This is what you've been waiting for, the #AsianGames2018 Opening Ceremony! An abundance of Indonesian cultures will be showcased through dance, songs, drama, and stage decoration. Watch the show now on national TV or https://t.co/id8kKmxV3c #OpeningAG2018 pic.twitter.com/F3Y386CuPP — Asian Games 2018 (@asiangames2018) August 18, 2018

North and South Korea had marched together at the 2018 Commonwealth Games too.

17:24 IST: We are moments away from the opening ceremony now.

17:15 IST: Commonwealth Games gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will be India's flag-bearer in the opening ceremony.

17:00 IST: Indonesian culture will be at full display today at the opening ceremony.

This is what you've been waiting for, the #AsianGames2018 Opening Ceremony! An abundance of Indonesian cultures will be showcased through dance, songs, drama, and stage decoration. Watch the show now on national TV or https://t.co/uTj8RGbIJP #OpeningAG2018 pic.twitter.com/eQGVmZDWdw — Asian Games 2018 (@asiangames2018) August 18, 2018

16:41 IST: India's batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has urged everyone to come out abd support the Indian team.

The #AsianGames2018 are here. The best way we can support our athletes representing India is to watch them do what they do best. Let's show them our true mettle and with pride bring home some metal, guys! — Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 18, 2018

16:35 IST: Hello and welcome to the live updates of the 2018 Asian Games opening ceremony.

The stage has been built manually by artists from Bandung and Jakarta and will witness around 4,000 dancers who will perform on dance choreographed by Denny Malik and Eko Supriyanto. The dancers are expected to perform "an energetic and elegant show" with the presence of an orchestra that will feature at least a hundred musicians with its two conductors Addie MS and Ronald Steven, who are well recognised amid Indonesian music culture. The main Gelora Bung Karno stadium will be transformed into a verdant mountain, organisers say, and Indonesian celebrity singer Anggun Cipta Sasmi will take to the stage.

Around 50,000 people are expected inside the stadium, Games organising committee INASGOC said Saturday, adding that tickets -- which range in price from to $50-$350 -- had sold out. Indonesian Gunawan Tri Wasisto, who works in finance, said tickets were costly but worth it.</s>JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities ramped up efforts to welcome visitors on Saturday (Aug 18) ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

The city, notorious for its traffic congestion and pollution, was spruced up as the country prepared to kick off the world’s second-biggest multi-sport event.

READ: Schooling plans to swim 'until 2024', targets ‘best times’ at Asian Games

As part of these efforts, authorities covered a 700m stretch of heavy polluted river behind the Games’ athletes' village in Kemayoran by using a black nylon net.

The Sentiong river, which locals call “kali item” or Black River, is renowned for being clogged with rubbish and emits a harsh smell.

The athletes' village - which can accommodate up to 22,000 people - is located next to the river.

Mr Yunianto, a local resident who lives along the Sentiong, told Channel NewsAsia that it was a positive move to “hide” the river from athletes.

“We need to show people that Jakarta is making an effort to welcome visitors. We have a trash problem, but it's not right to simply display our filth for all to see,” said the 40-year-old father-of-two.

Authorities have also imposed stringent security measures across the competition venues at both host cities, Jakarta and Palembang.

According to the Indonesian Asian Games Organising Committee (INASGOC), the National Police and Indonesian Military have deployed 100,000 personnel for the games.

Spectators and media who attended the opening ceremony on Saturday evening at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) sports complex in Jakarta had to undergo bag checks and body scans by security personnel.

Cui Yan, a spectator from China, said he had to queue for 20 minutes to enter GBK.

However the 52-year-old said he understood the need for the arrangements.

“We don’t want some horrible terrorist attack to spoil the whole event. I feel safer like this, that everyone is checked thoroughly,” he said.

Meanwhile, to overcome traffic congestion at the Asian Games, the Indonesian government has expanded Jakarta’s "odd-even" traffic policy for cars in August.

The policy restricts private cars from entering major thoroughfares in the capital city on alternate days based on the last digit of their license plates.

The new expanded policy increases the restriction time from seven hours to 15 hours per day, and has also been expanded to include weekends.



Grab driver Wisnu Budiman told Channel NewsAsia that the extended policy has improved congestion in Jakarta “by leaps and bounds”.

“It's tough for us because we need to make a living driving only on alternate days. But our rides are less likely to be caught in jams. And this is positive for the Asian Games.”

Get the widest coverage of the 18th Asian Games (Aug 18 – Sep 2) from Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia on Mediacorp. Go to toggle.sg/AsianGames2018 for details.</s>Indonesian police have killed dozens with a 'shoot first, ask questions later' policy to 'clean up' before the Asian Games this weekend.

Amnesty International claimed 31 fatal police shootings were directly linked to police operations explicitly designed to prepare Jakarta and other host cities.

National police chief Tito Karniavan announced officers would take 'firm actions' including shooting anyone resisting arrest on sight.

'If they fight the officers during the arrest then have no doubt, just shoot them,' he said on July 30 in response to criticism of the heavy-handed operations.

The killings peaked on July 3-12, when 11 people in Jakarta and three in South Sumatra were shot dead by the police as part of a 'public safety' operations.

In Jakarta, another 41 people were shot in the legs and more than 700 of 5,000 people arrested were charged with a criminal offence.

Last month, authorities said they shot more than 50 suspects in Jakarta who 'resisted arrest' during a pre-Games crackdown and 15 of them dying of their wounds.

Shooting thieves and muggers who were armed or attempted to flee was necessary to clean up the streets before thousands arrived in Indonesia for the Games, police said.

'These shocking figures reveal a clear pattern of unnecessary and excessive use of force,' said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty's Indonesia office.

'The hosting of an international sporting event must not come at the price of abandoning human rights.'

Mr Hamid said authorities promised to improve security for all in the months leading up to the Asian Games.

'Instead, we have seen the police shooting and killing dozens of people across the country with almost zero accountability for the deaths,' he said.

'These shocking figures reveal a clear pattern of unnecessary and excessive use of force by the police, and a constant veil of impunity that taints public security institutions.

'The killings must stop and all deaths must be promptly and effectively investigated.'

Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phelim Kine added: 'The Asian Games are intended to celebrate human achievement, not provide a pretext for a police 'shoot to kill' policy in the name of crime contro.'

Authorities also targeted terror suspects, with Indonesia on high alert following a string of suicide bombings this year which reignited concerns about Islamist militants.

Tens of thousands of security personnel will be deployed during the August 18 to September 2 Games, the second-biggest in the world after the Olympics.

Indonesia is hosting more than 11,000 athletes and 5,000 officials for the event.</s>Asian Games 2018 Opening Ceremony: When and Where to Watch on TV, Date, Time and Full Schedule

The eighteenth pan-Asian games have finally arrived. On Friday, August 18, the 2018 Asian Games finally commence in Indonesia.

For the first time in the history of the Games, they will be co-hosted by two cities. The Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang have been chosen to host the 2018 Asian Games. Furthermore, the pan-Asian multi-sport tournament returns to Indonesia after a fifty-six-year gap, after the Games were last held in Jakarta in 1962.

The Games will also feature ESports and Canoe Polo for the first time, albeit in an exhibition manner.

The eighteenth Asian Games will officially begin from August 19. However, a major event is scheduled for Saturday, without which, no tournament can commence -- the Opening Ceremony.

The Opening Ceremony of the Asiad will be hosted in the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta.

As usual, the ceremony will showcase the rich culture of Indonesia through various dance forms and performances. Several popular Indonesian singers will be present to entertain the crowd, as well.

The ceremony in itself is expected to start at 5:30 PM according to the Indian Standard Time. However, the 'Parade of Nations' won't take place before 6:15 PM. At that point, a strong Indian contingent will be led in front of the audience by the nation's Javelin Throw prodigy, Neeraj Chopra.

If you plan on watching the opening ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games, below is all the information you are going to need.

Here is all you need about the upcoming 18th Asian Games:

For the full schedule of the 18th Asian Games, click here.

You can also follow the live commentary of the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games, live on Sportskeeda.com</s>Whenever Chinese superstar Sun Yang dives in the pool, the world takes notice as the 26-year-old is a 6-time Olympic medalist and reigning 1500m freestyle world record holder. He will be one of the most-watched athletes at the 2018 Asian Games, whose swimming events kick-off on Sunday, August 19th in Jakarta, Indonesia. Sun is slated to race the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events, as well as the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, giving the Olympian a chance to collect a possible 5 gold medals on the competition.

At the 2014 edition of the Asian Games, Sun managed to clinch 2 individual golds across the 400m and 1500m freestyles, but saw Japanese dynamo Kosuke Hagino get the best of him in the men’s 200m free race. The pair was separated by just .05 of a second, with Hagino topping the podium in 1:45.23 to Sun’s silver medal-garnering 1:45.28.

.03 is also what separates Sun Yang from the current world leader in Lithuania’s Danas Rapsys in the rankings. Rapsys fired off a time of 1:45.12 to take the top spot among the world’s best this season time-wise, while Sun’s season-fastest is the 1:45.15 he registered at the China Games last September.

However, we all know of what Sun is capable, as evidenced by his dramatic 200m freestyle win in Rio. En route to claiming the gold at the 2016 Olympic Games, Sun overtook an out-faster-than-life Chad Le Clos to win in a mark of 1:44.65. He represented the only man of the field to dip under 1:45 in the race as he improved upon his silver medal finish from 2012 in London.

Sun has continued his stellar performances, setting an Asian Record while taking gold in Budapest last year at the World Championships. He notched a time of 1:44.39 to become the 6th fastest performer ever in the event.

Re-watch Sun’s gold medal-winning performance in Rio as we prepare to see what the man can do against the likes of Japan’s Katsuhiro Matsumoto and Naito Ehara in Jakarta just days away.</s>The Asian Games 2018 will kick off with a spectacular opening ceremony that will be held on Saturday (August 18) at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) main stadium in Jakarta. The Asian Games opening ceremony is scheduled to feature renowned Indonesian singers, such as Anggun, who is already internationally recognised, Raisa, Tulus, Edo Kondologit, Putri Ayu, Fatin, GAC, Kamasean and Via Vallen. The ceremony stage -- with features of 120-metre length, 30-metre width and 26-metre height -- will showcase a towering mountain as its background, accompanied by plants and flowers unique to Indonesia. Commonwealth Games gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will be India's flag-bearer in the opening ceremony. The Indian sports ministry has cleared an 804-member Indian contingent, including 572 athletes, for the Asian Games. The sporting extravaganza will see around 10,000 athletes from 45 countries compete in 58 games.

When will the Asian Games 2018 opening ceremony be held?

The Asian Games 2018 opening ceremony will be held on August 18, 2018.

Where will the Asian Games 2018 opening ceremony be held?

The Asian Games 2018 opening ceremony will be held at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) main stadium in Jakarta.

How do I watch the Asian Games 2018 opening ceremony live?

The Asian Games 2018 opening ceremony will be telecast live by the Sony Network.

What time will the Asian Games 2018 opening ceremony start?

The live telecast of the Asian Games 2018 opening ceremony is scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm IST.

Where can you follow the Asian Games 2018 opening ceremony online?

The Asian Games 2018 will be streamed live on Sony Liv. For live updates, you can follow sports.ndtv.com.</s>The Asian Games 2018 kicks off with a spectacular opening ceremony that will be held on Saturday (August 18) at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) main stadium in Jakarta. The Asian Games opening ceremony will feature renowned Indonesian singers, such as Anggun, who is already internationally recognised, Raisa, Tulus, Edo Kondologit, Putri Ayu, Fatin, GAC, Kamasean and Via Vallen. The ceremony stage -- with features of 120-metre length, 30-metre width and 26-metre height -- will showcase a towering mountain as its background, accompanied by plants and flowers unique to Indonesia. Commonwealth Games gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will be India's flag-bearer in the opening ceremony. The Indian sports ministry has cleared an 804-member Indian contingent, including 572 athletes, for the Asian Games . The sporting extravaganza will see around 10,000 athletes from 45 countries compete in 58 games.

17:15 IST: Commonwealth Games gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will be India's flag-bearer in the opening ceremony.

17:00 IST: Indonesian culture will be at full display today at the opening ceremony.

16:41 IST: India's batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has urged everyone to come out abd support the Indian team.

16:35 IST: Hello and welcome to the live updates of the 2018 Asian Games opening ceremony.

The stage has been built manually by artists from Bandung and Jakarta and will witness around 4,000 dancers who will perform on dance choreographed by Denny Malik and Eko Supriyanto. The dancers are expected to perform "an energetic and elegant show" with the presence of an orchestra that will feature at least a hundred musicians with its two conductors Addie MS and Ronald Steven, who are well recognised amid Indonesian music culture. The main Gelora Bung Karno stadium will be transformed into a verdant mountain, organisers say, and Indonesian celebrity singer Anggun Cipta Sasmi will take to the stage.

Around 50,000 people are expected inside the stadium, Games organising committee INASGOC said Saturday, adding that tickets -- which range in price from to $50-$350 -- had sold out. Indonesian Gunawan Tri Wasisto, who works in finance, said tickets were costly but worth it.</s>The Asian Games — which are organised by the Olympic Council of Asia every four years — are the second largest multi-sport event in the world, behind only the Olympic Games.

While usually the Asian Games are held only in one city, this time around the Asian Games will see events happening in Indonesian capital Jakarta and the country’s oldest city, Palembang. While Jakarta will host most of the events, sports like shooting and tennis will be played in Palembang.

The first Asian Games were held in India in 1951.

At the 18th Asian Games, athletes from 45 countries will compete in 55 events. While events like boxing, wrestling, shooting and badminton will represent India’s best chances of getting golds, unusual events like bridge, pencak silat and kurash will also see Indian athletes compete.

The event will also have unconventional events like jet skiing while eSports (video games) will be a demonstration sport. eSports are expected to be medal events at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

The size of India's contingent at the Asian Games stands at 572 — 312 men and 260 women. These athletes will compete across 36 disciplines.</s>Jakarta, Aug 18 (IANS) The 18th Asian Games opened amid a spectacular ceremony at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in this Indonesian capital on Saturday night.

A day after celebrating the 73rd anniversary of the country's independence, Indonesian President Joko Widodo declared the Games open following a speech by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) chief Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, reports Xinhua news agency.

Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was India's flag bearer in the opening ceremony, with 568 athletes marching behind him.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy and Vice Premier Sun Chunlan attended the ceremony, standing up from her seat and waving to the Chinese delegation as the Asian sports powerhouse was led into the stadium by Rio Olympics taekwondo gold medallist and flagbearer Zhao Shuai in the athletes parade.

China sent a relatively young delegation, with 631 out of their 845-athlete squad participating in neither the Olympics nor the Asian Games.

"The Asian Games can serve as a mid-term exam for us in build-up to the Tokyo Olympics," Chinese delegation general secretary Liu Guoyong said prior to the opening ceremony. "The Games could let them have a feel for major international sporting events."

The Chinese squad also features 19 Olympic champions, including Rio Olympics women's volleyball MVP Zhu Ting, world's famous shuttler Lin Dan and swimming king Sun Yang.

To highlight the athletes parade, the North and South Koreas marched together under a unified Korean flag, just like that during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February. They will also field joint teams in women's basketball, rowing and canoeing events.

The athletes' parade was followed by a stellar art performance, which was full of Indonesia's diverse cultures, history, legendary folklore and traditional dance with an immense volcanic mountainscape as the storytelling canvas.

The cauldron for the Asian Games was lit by Indonesia's first ever Olympic gold medallist, famous shuttler Susi Susanti.

China will try to become runaway leaders again in Jakarta after they have led the medals table in the past nine editions. They will be competing in 376 medal events in 38 sports.

The Jakarta Asiad will stage 465 events out of 40 sports, among which 330 events from 32 sports will feature in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Games will also showcase climbing and skateboarding, the two sports being added to the schedule of the Tokyo Olympics. The Indonesian martial art of pencak silat will be among 10 events making their Asian Games debut.

Jakarta has had less than the normal amount of time to prepare for the Games. It was selected only four years ago after Vietnam, the original host, pulled out due to financial setbacks.

The Asian Games, attracting more than 10,000 athletes, will run through Sept. 2. Jakarta will be the main venue while several sports will take place in Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra Province.

It's the second time for Jakarta to host the Asiad, which had its fourth edition in the Indonesian capital in 1962. The inaugural Asian Games were held in New Delhi, India in 1951.</s>The 18th edition of Asian Games will be officially declared open on Saturday, August 18 with a grand opening ceremony at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.

When is the opening ceremony and how to watch it live

The ceremony will start at 7 pm local time (5:30 pm IST ,1 pm BST, 8 pm SGT).

The upcoming edition will see the Games be held at two different cities for the first time in its history as Jakarta and Palembang are hosting the multi-sport spectacle.

More than 10,500 athletes are expected to take part in the Games, which runs between August 18 and September 2.

Indonesia seems to be leaving no stone unturned to put on a spectacular show and show the world it is "capable of hosting an international event" successfully.

Celebrated Indonesian singer Anggun will lead the ceremony show. She will be joined by the likes of Raisa, Tulus, Edo Kondologit, Putri Ayu, Fatin, GAC, Kamasean and Via Vallen.

The ceremony stage at the GBK Stadium is going to be one of the major highlights as it features a mountain and a mini waterfall along with Indonesian flora.

Dance shows, choreographed by Denny Malik and Eko Supriyanto, will be performed on the grand stage.
• Parade of Athletes at 7:45 pm local time and 8.45 pm SGT
The opening ceremony of the Asian Games takes place.