MEDIA PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN SUCCESS OF ASIAN GAMES 2018 by Fardah

Jakarta, Dec 16, 2017 (Antara) - After more than five decades, the Asian Games will finally return to Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta, a metropolitan hosting more than 12 million people during the work week.

        Next year, the 18th Asian Games will be co-hosted by Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra Province, from Aug 18 to Sept 2. The first and last time Indonesia hosted the Asian Games was in 1962.  
   Some 9,500 athletes, 2,500 personnel of the Asian Olympic Council, and 5,500 technical delegates from 45 countries will participate or be involved in the event. At least 3,500 media representatives are expected to cover it.

        A total of 40 sports, comprising 462 events of 32 Olympic sports and eight non-Olympic sports, will be competed in during the 18th Asian Games.

        For many Indonesians, the largest regional sports event in Asia will be a chance to showcase the country's sporting and economic success. 
    To help promote Indonesia's success stories in general and the implementation of the Games in particular, the government will, among other things, rely on the media, both national and international.   
    Government public relations services across the country and community information groups have expressed readiness to make the four-yearly event a success through traditional, print, electronic, and social media.

          The Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC) last November 27-28 organized a media forum to inform the media of preparations for the execution of the Asian Games.

           "We will also make sure that the representatives of the media receive appropriate services during the implementation of the Asian Games because the media plays an important role in improving the significance of the multi-event games," Erick Thohir, INASGOC Chairman, said during the opening of the media forum.

          Journalists from 22 Asian countries participated in the media forum. Their agenda included field visits to sporting arenas, such as Bung Karno Sport Stadium in Jakarta and Jakabaring Sport Stadium in Palembang, which will be used as Asian Games venues.

           The organizing committee explained the preparations typically made for sports events, sports arenas, broadcast services for television and radio stations, accreditation procedures, accommodation, and transportation services.

            "We have forged cooperation with those agencies acting in collaboration with the Asian Olympic Council in the information technology and broadcasting sectors," Thohir stated, regarding information technology facilities being arranged for media coverage of the Asian Games.

        Danny Buldansyah, spokesman of INASGOC, informed the journalists that media centers at the Asian Games 2018 will be established in the Jakarta Convention Center, Senayan, Jakarta, and in the Jakabaring area in Palembang.

          The media center in Senayan will be able to accommodate some 700 journalists.

          In the media centers, journalists and photographers will be able to work and access data on matches during the trial tournament.

        Indonesia plans live broadcasts of 38 of the 40 sports being showcased at the event.    
    The organizer will also broadcast the opening and closing ceremonies of the event, which will be attended by thousands of athletes from 54 countries.

           INASGOC expects to spend up to Rp800 billion on live broadcasts of the 38 sporting events and opening and closing ceremonies, targeting 20 countries for the broadcasts over a period of three weeks.    
     Four to five billion people are expected to watch the events and activities during the three-week competition, Thohir noted.    
    "We will use a total of 427 high-definition cameras to broadcast all sport events live, except bridge and squash," Director of Broadcast of INASGOC Linda Wahyudi stated.

        INASGOC has signed a contract with Swiss International Games and Broadcast Services as a partner in broadcasting the Asian Games 2018 live.

          A Japanese broadcasting company, Dentsu, will be the Asian Games 2018 broadcast rights holder, while the Emtek Group has the broadcast rights for the 2018 Asian Games for Indonesia.

         According to INASGOC Chairman Erick Thohir, six Asian countries have already acquired broadcasting rights: Qatar, China, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and India.

           Besides Asian and Latin American countries, Indonesia is also expecting the United States to buy rights to broadcast the event live, as there are many Asians living there, Thohir noted.

          Rosarita Niken Widiastuti, the director general of public information and communication, said Palembang has been chosen as the venue for "Synergy of Public Information and Communication Actions" since it will play host to the Asian Games.

          At the opening of the event, she urged all relevant parties to lend support to make the Asian Games 2018 a success, thereby confirming her declaration of support from all government relations services and community information groups at the event.

           The involvement of the media is also necessary to eliminate possible hoaxes that could affect the execution of the Asian Games.

           At the launch of "Countdown to Asian Games 2018" in Jakarta on Aug 18, President Joko Widodo called on the entire country to unite in efforts to make the event a success. ***4***
(f001/INE/o001)
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(T.F001/A/BESSR/O. Tamindael) 16-12-2017