On Thursday, a ceremony to hoist the flags of 14 of the 42 countries participating in the 5^th Asian Beach Games (ABG5) was held at Da Nang’s East Sea Park.  They included those of Viet Nam, Qatar, Maldives, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Tajikistan and India.

The Vietnamese flag being hoisted at the ceremony

Present at the event were municipal People’s Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho and Vice Chairman Dang Viet Dung, along with representatives from international sports delegations.

Despite the unfavourable weather conditions, the ceremony took place respectfully and left a deep impression on the participants.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman Tho said “I felt very touched and proud as the Vietnamese flag was hoisted and flew over this ABG5 site.  The city authorities have made every effort to prepare well for this continent-level sports event.  At this moment, all the preparations are complete.  I hope that all the competing teams will do their utmost to achieve their best results, and that the Vietnamese delegation will leave a good impression”.

Chairman Tho receiving a gift from a Qatar representative

Mr Abdulla Imad Ismail, a representative from the Maldives, highly praised Da Nang for its great efforts in preparing for ABG5.  He remarked that the ceremony was held professionally and solemnly, despite the rain.  He added that the participating athletes and coaches were being treated with a friendly and hospitable attitude.

Today, 23 September, a ceremony to hoist the flags of the remaining 28 participating countries was held at 2.00pm at the East Sea Park.

These countries were: Brunei, Timor Leste, Macau, Bangladesh, Iran, Yemen, Mongolia, Myanmar, Bahrain, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Taiwan, Cambodia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Indonesia, Jordan, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Turkmenistan, Thailand and Oman.

With regard to security, during his meeting on Thursday with representatives from the municipal Department of Police, Col Le Xuan Duc, Deputy Head of the Traffic Police Department of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, highly praised the local police for their great efforts in preparing detailed plans to ensure the security and safety of visitors, the participating athletes and their coaches. 

At the meeting, the Head of the city’s Traffic Police Office, Col Le Ngoc, presented the plans for welcoming the high-ranking guests, and ensuring security at the opening and closing ceremonies.

A spokesperson for the Ministry’s Traffic Police Department said that the unit will deploy 4 cars and 12 police officers to join with the local police force in welcoming the VIP guests.