Officials hail use of tech to boost efficiency

Olympic Council of Asia officials praised the efficiency of the Hangzhou Asian Games' opening ceremony and competition events in six host cities, with a particular emphasis on the use of digital technologies to optimize speed and smoothness.

The OCA's acting president, Raja Randhir Singh, said on Sunday that he was impressed not only by the opening ceremony's spectacle but also the prompt efficacy with which it unfolded.

The former athlete explained that he understood the hard work the organizing committee had to undertake to ensure national delegations' seamless parading and seating, and called the organizing "really impressive".

The OCA's honorary life vice-president, Wei Jizhong, who has attended the opening ceremonies of 11 Asiads and Olympics, hailed the pace and orderliness of the Hangzhou Games' opening ceremony as "unprecedented".

Over 70,000 people, including more than 12,000 athletes and 50,000 audience members, attended the event, which started at 8 pm on Saturday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. Most were able to leave by subway or shuttle bus within half an hour after it concluded.

Chen Weiqiang, Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee executive secretary-general, attributed the operational efficiency to a smart control system that employs such technologies as 5G, the internet of things, big data and artificial intelligence.

Chen, who is also the 19th Asiad's spokesperson, explained the orderly clearing of the stadium was enabled by green lights installed in each area that signaled when people in that respective section could depart.

"These lights were automatically activated according to real-time data measuring the flows at each exit," he said.

The smart control system is also set to ensure the smooth operations of the competition events at 56 venues across five co-hosting cities, Chen said.

"The large (smart control) screen at our headquarters provides unobstructed views of all of our venues," he said. "We can contact any venues at any time, and are thoroughly aware of the buildings and events."