Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya: Dates, Venue Opening Times, Re-entry Rules and the Official Sport Counts
The 20th Asian Games ran 19 September to 4 October 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya. Venue tables gave three times per session; the JOC cited 43 sports and the organisers 41 ticketed sports.
The dates, and the two official sport counts
The 20th Asian Games ran 19 September to 4 October 2026, centred on Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya. It was Japan's third time hosting and the first since Hiroshima in 1994 — a 32-year gap.[2][8][9]
Two sport counts circulated. The Japanese Olympic Committee listed 45 nations and regions across 43 sports, explicitly dated as of 6 March 2026. A separate organising committee notice of 8 September, reporting ticket sales as of 7 September, referred to the ceremonies and "all 41 sports" for which tickets were on sale. The two figures come from different publications with different purposes, but the cited notices do not reconcile the two totals or say which sports account for the difference.[2][7]
The official venue table gives three times, not one
The official ENTRIO venue page lists a Venue Opening Schedule with three times per session: Venue Open, Competition Starts and Competition Ends. It also notes that end times are tentative and may change with the progress of the events.[1]
Planning around "competition starts" alone means arriving as the session begins. At ENTRIO (handball) the published pairs were 8:30 / 10:00 on 19 September, 11:00 / 12:30 on 20 September, and 13:30 / 15:00 on 22 September. The opening and start times varied by date; the gap between them did not — by this page's calculation, competition started 90 minutes after the venue opened in all ten sessions listed for ENTRIO.[1]
So the practical rule was to read the row for your date, not the venue in general. The table carries the note "Schedule above is subject to change".[1]
Buying tickets on the day
The official ticket site sold tickets until 90 minutes before a session was due to end, so a purchase after the session had begun was still possible where seats remained.[3]
Same-day sales at the venue itself were offered at eight competition venues, not all of them, from 90 minutes before a session's scheduled start until 90 minutes before its scheduled end. Two of the eight were outside Aichi Prefecture: Ecopa Stadium in Shizuoka Prefecture and Nagai Stadium in Osaka. The organisers also set up a separate in-person sales point, the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Ticket Center at Sakae Hirobus, and placed ticket help desks at every competition venue to support online purchases.[3]
Re-entry: not permitted for five listed event-venue combinations
The organising committee stated: "Re-entry is not permitted at the following events and venues." The opening and closing ceremonies were on that list — at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium — so leaving the ceremony venue meant not coming back in.[4][8]
The full list pairs an event with a venue: Opening Ceremony / Closing Ceremony at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, Judo at Aichi International Arena, Shooting at Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery, Sailing at Kaiyoh Yacht Harbor, and Cricket (T20) at Korogi Athletic Park. The restriction is stated for those combinations; Aichi International Arena, for example, also hosted basketball, which is not on the list.[2][4]
For all other events and venues, the notice said re-entry generally required two things: your ticket and a wristband provided when you exit the venue. A ticket by itself is not stated to be enough.[4]
Note the word "generally". The committee did not present this as a guarantee for every venue, and it directed visitors to ask venue staff on the day of their session for further details. The notice does not list per-venue exceptions.[4]
Opening times were published, but marked subject to change
The committee pointed visitors to a separate Venue Opening Schedule for "detailed information on the opening times of each competition venue." It attached a caveat in the same notice: "Please note: Schedules are subject to change. Be sure to check the latest information before your visit."[5]
The notice is date-stamped, and its latest version reads "As of Oct. 2, 2026"; the ENTRIO venue table is stamped "As of Sep. 10, 2026". This page reproduces selected ENTRIO examples, not the full venue schedules.[1][5]
Results
The organisers' official results system is at results.asiangames2026.org, and the committee's daily highlight posts link each day's results. This page does not carry event results.[6][9]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
Statements and readings
Not counted as facts — each item shows what kind of statement it isFrom here on: statements not counted as facts — single-source reports, the issuing body’s own statements, and this page’s own readings, each labeled.
The Japanese Olympic Committee states that athletes from 45 Asian nations and regions compete in 43 sports, a figure it dates as of 6 March 2026.[2] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · Japanese Olympic Committee, with the date qualifier as published
An organising committee notice of 8 September 2026, reporting ticket sales as of 7 September, refers to the opening and closing ceremonies and "all 41 sports" for which tickets were on sale (translated from the Japanese "全41競技").[7] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · AINAGOC ticket sales status notice of 8 September 2026
The official ENTRIO venue page lists three times per session: Venue Open, Competition Starts and Competition Ends.[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · AINAGOC venue page for ENTRIO
At the ENTRIO handball venue the published pairs were 8:30 and 10:00 on 19 September, 11:00 and 12:30 on 20 September and 13:30 and 15:00 on 22 September; for all ten listed sessions, competition start is 90 minutes after venue opening (this page's calculation).[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · AINAGOC venue page table for ENTRIO (as of 10 September 2026); difference calculated by this page
The official venue table carries the note "Schedule above is subject to change".[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · Wording published beneath the AINAGOC venue table
The official ticket site sold tickets until 90 minutes before a session was due to end, and same-day tickets were sold at eight competition venues; a separate in-person Ticket Center was set up at Sakae Hirobus.[3] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · AINAGOC same-day ticket notice of 2 September 2026
Timeline
- 1994
Hiroshima hosts the Asian Games, Japan's most recent time as host before 2026.[2]
- 2026-09-02
Organising committee publishes same-day ticket arrangements and the eight venues that sell them.[3]
- 2026-09-08
Organising committee reports ticket sales as of 7 September for the ceremonies and 41 sports.[7]
- 2026-09-09
AINAGOC publishes the venue opening times notice.[5]
- 2026-09-12
AINAGOC publishes the re-entry rules, listing five event-venue combinations where re-entry is not permitted.[4]
- 2026-09-19
- 2026-10-04
Closing day of the Games, with the closing ceremony at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.[2][8]
- Model
- claude-opus-5
- Time
- 09/11/2026, 05:30
- Body characters
- 3,946
- Sources
- 9 sources adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 10/06/2026, 00:29
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (4)
| 09/11/2026, 05:30 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
| 09/19/2026 | Day-before-opening update: added AINAGOC re-entry rules and the venue opening schedule notice. | Updated |
| 10/06/2026 | Independent review applied: past tense now that the Games have closed; 41-sport figure re-attributed to the 8 September ticket sales notice and the 41/43 relationship left unreconciled; ENTRIO opening-to-start gap shown as a constant 90 minutes (page calculation over all ten sessions); same-day sales clarified (eight competition venues, two outside Aichi, separate Ticket Center); re-entry restrictions narrowed to the listed event-venue pairs and the quotation paraphrased; broadcasting section and unsupported date stamp removed; venue page and visitor information added as sources. | Updated |
| 10/06/2026 | Independent re-review (ChatGPT) against the sources; confirmed findings applied. | Updated |
Corrections
| 09/19/2026 | Added a pointer to the official results system after the Games started; this page links to it rather than carrying results. | Applied |
| 10/06/2026 | Correction: the "all 41 sports" wording comes from the organising committee's 8 September ticket sales notice, not the 2 September same-day ticket notice it was attributed to. The page had also said that 41 and 43 "measure different things"; the cited notices do not reconcile the two totals, so that conclusion has been removed. The page said the gap between venue opening and competition start "differs by date"; at ENTRIO it was 90 minutes in every listed session, and only the clock times varied. Re-entry was restricted for five listed event-venue combinations, not for every event at those venues. Unsupported statements about international broadcasting and an "As of Sep. 18" date stamp have been removed. | Applied |
Frequently asked
When were the 2026 Asian Games?
From 19 September to 4 October 2026, centred on Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, Japan. It was Japan's third time hosting and the first since Hiroshima in 1994.[2][8][9]
How many sports are at the 2026 Asian Games?
The Japanese Olympic Committee gives 43 sports as of 6 March 2026, across 45 nations and regions. A separate organising committee notice on ticket sales as of 7 September referred to 41 sports for which tickets were on sale. The cited notices do not explicitly reconcile the two totals.[2][7]
What time did venues open?
The official ENTRIO venue page lists three times per session - Venue Open, Competition Starts and Competition Ends. The opening and start times varied by date: 8:30 and 10:00 on 19 September but 13:30 and 15:00 on 22 September. In each ENTRIO session the start came 90 minutes after opening (this page's calculation).[1]
Could you buy tickets on the day?
Yes where seats remained. The official ticket site sold until 90 minutes before a session was due to end, and same-day sales at the venue itself were offered at eight competition venues rather than all of them. A separate Ticket Center at Sakae Hirobus also sold tickets in person.[3]
Was the published schedule final?
No. The official venue table carries the note "Schedule above is subject to change", and competition end times are marked tentative.[1]
Could you leave the venue and come back in?
Not for the five listed event-venue combinations, including the opening and closing ceremonies at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. Elsewhere re-entry generally required both your ticket and the wristband given to you when you exit.[4]
Where did you get the re-entry wristband?
The notice says the wristband is provided when you exit the venue.[4]
Were the venue opening times final?
The organising committee marked them subject to change and asked visitors to check the latest information before their visit. The notice is date-stamped; its latest version reads "As of Oct. 2, 2026".[5]
Official links
Sources
- [1] ENTRIO (venue page with Venue Opening Schedule) primary
- [2] 愛知・名古屋アジア大会 primary
- [3] 第20回アジア競技大会（2026/愛知･名古屋） 観戦チケット当日券の販売について primary
- [4] Re-entering Venues primary
- [5] Venue Opening Times primary
- [6] Official results system - 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 primary
- [7] 第20回アジア競技大会(2026/愛知・名古屋) チケット販売状況について primary
- [8] Information for Visitors primary
- [9] General (news listing) primary