Athletes participating 7,711 Opening ceremony September 29 | Nations participating 44 Events 419 in 38 sports Closing ceremony October 14 | |
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The 2002 Asian Games, also known as XIV Asiad is a multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Busan is the second city in South Korea, after Seoul in 1986 to host the Games. A total of 419 events in 38 sports were contested by 7,711 athletes from 44 countries. The Games also co-hosted by its four neighbouring cities: Ulsan, Changwon, Masan and Yangsan.
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Marketing
The emblem of the Games featured the blue waves of sea in the shape of Taegeuk, symbolising Busan and Korea. It expresses the image of development and unity of the Asian people; two dynamic powers are closely intertwined, while the wave's shape indicates the character B, the first character of Busan.
Sea gulls, are sometimes called the city bird of Busan. It is named "Duria", a combination of the two words 'Durative' and 'Asia', which means "You and Me Together" in the Korean language, and expresses the ideal of the Games: to promote unity and partnership among Asian countries.
In conjunction with the Games, eight songs were released as the official music for the Games:
Venues
44 venues were used in the Games with twelve of them are newly built. Below is the list of competition venues in the Games.
Participating nations
All 44 members of Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) with 7,711 athletes took part in the Games. Timor-Leste participated for the first time since its independence and Afghanistan returned to the action since Taliban had come to power. Below is a list of all the participating NOCs; the number of competitors per delegation is indicated in brackets.
Sports
A total of 419 events in 38 sports was contested in the Games for 16 days of competition. Football and basketball was kickoff two and one day respectively prior to the opening ceremony. Bodybuilding was the debutant sport in Games.
Medal table
The top ten ranked NOCs at these Games are listed below. The host nation, South Korea, is highlighted.