Japan is known for world-class events – but the Asian Games were chaotic

ByKurumi Mori, Tokyo correspondent and Issey Izumi.

Key points

• The organising committee had initially arranged accommodation for up to 15, 000 delegation members "in accordance with the host city contract", Omi informed the BBC.
• But organiser Takaaki Omi stressed that GL Events "has experience in international sporting events, including the Paris Olympic Games".
• Over the course of the Games, athletes were bussed to the wrong venues and the North Korean anthem was played for the South Korean men's hockey team.
• Prof Kozo Tomiyama, who studies major sporting events at Osaka University, believes organisers were unable to handle the unexpected.
• From the Olympics to Tokyo's annual video game convention, Japan has a solid track record of hosting major international events.

From the Olympics to Tokyo's annual video game convention, Japan has a solid track record of hosting major international events. But this year's Asian Games in Nagoya and the wider Aichi Prefecture were marred by challenges.

There were diplomatic blunders, transport errors and accommodation chaos. In comment fields online, some branded it the "worst Games in history" and pressed a "full investigation".

"If these problems damage international confidence in Japan's ability to operate sporting events, they could also affect Japan's ability to attract international competitions in the future, " he cautioned.

For context, the deputy director general of the Games, Takaaki Omi, admitted organisers had faced a range of unforeseen problems, but insisted they took on feedback and produced improvements.

Before the tournament had even begun, participants were complaining regarding too few rooms and poor-quality accommodation.

Organisers had decided to forgo building a traditional athletes' village to cut costs, and were instead housing participants in hotels and container-style units throughout Nagoya. A top Korean basketball official remarked tall athletes housed in the containers were struggling to "stretch their legs out on the beds".

Last-minute additions to the total number of participants strained the city's capacity so much that an Italian cruise ship with 1, 500 cabins was applied to fill the gap.

Notably, the organising committee had initially arranged accommodation for up to 15, 000 delegation members "in accordance with the host city contract", Omi informed the BBC. But as other sports were continued, the number grew by 2, 000 to a total of 17, 000.

Organisers initially asserted there was "simply nowhere" to put up the late influx and informed them to create their own arrangements – before backpedalling and releasing a joint statement with the Olympic Council of Asia promising that all "17, 000-plus" guests would secure "Games-appropriate accommodation". This was just the start of the challenges.

Over the course of the Games, athletes were bussed to the wrong venues and the North Korean anthem was played for the South Korean men's hockey team. During the men's football gold medal ceremony, the South Korean flag was not raised properly. Taiwan's sports minister discovered himself temporarily barred from a flag-raising event.

In the last days of the Games, volunteers received an email inviting them to the closing ceremony free of charge. But afterwards an organiser stated the decision to distribute free tickets was still under review and had not been approved.

Omi admitted the string of incidents at the event – which was bigger than the Paris Olympics by number of participants – had caused significant inconvenience for some delegations.

"Hosting and managing an event of this scale was a major challenge for us, and each day involved addressing a range of unexpected issues and challenges, " he remarked.

"During the Games, we also listened carefully to feedback from the athletes who were actually using the facilities and responded promptly with necessary improvements and measures."

As shortly as these matters began to surface, local media pointed fingers at the firm managing venue operations: the Japanese subsidiary of France's GL Events.

GL Events had won the 63bn yen (£306m; $405m) contract over Dentsu Group, an advertising giant with a long history of successfully running sporting events in Japan that had been sidelined after a criminal bid-rigging conviction.

In practice, a source informed Kyodo news agency that GL Events was "overwhelmingly cheaper" than alternative providers.

Last week the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper accused the firm of aggressively cutting corners on hiring, resulting in a shortage of experienced staff capable of managing the problems which arose. The personnel that were recruited were not properly trained, the newspaper alleged.

"We believe the necessary competition environment was in place by the start of competition, including thorough discussions and co-ordination with GL Events, " he informed the BBC.

Prof Tomiyama remarked he didn't think it was right to "simply conclude that GL events did not have sufficient experience with international competitions". He believes the matter stemmed from the "extremely broad" scope of responsibility they were given.

"Also, because this was a negotiated contract rather than a competitive tender, it's important to examine the criteria organisers used to assess the contractor's capabilities, as well as how they supervised the contractor after the contract was awarded, " Tomiyama continued. GL Events did not respond to repeated BBC requests for comment. Hopes for the future.

Watching organisers play whack-a-mole as they rushed to address each new concern which popped up throughout the Games felt deeply out of line with what the world has come to expect from a major Japanese event.

It's far from the "omotenashi" spirit – Japan's whole-hearted hospitality that is almost an art form – they might have wanted to showcase.

Authorities concluded up having to send a formal apology to South Korea for the series of mishaps affecting that particular delegation.

But Olympic Council of Asia director general Husain al-Musallam was keen to highlight the 54 new world records achieved at the Games – in swimming, weightlifting, and shooting – as proof they were a hit.

"This achievement does not come without the best environment that the organising committee created for the athletes, " he remarked. "The athletes cannot perform if they don't sleep good, the athletes cannot perform if they don't have good transportation." While the Games may be over, the challenges aren't.

Glitches have continued at the ongoing Para Games, where the wrong national anthems were played at three events. Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa. This person is additionally deputy head of the Games organising committee, called it "unacceptable" and offered his apologies.

Prof Tomiyama hopes organisers will take lessons from the past few weeks to deliver higher-quality sporting events going forward.

Taken together, the developments around japan is known for world-class events – but the Asian Games were point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.