Indonesia President Widodo opens 18th Asian Games

Indonesia President Joko Widodo declared the 18^th Asian Games open in a glittering ceremony on Saturday (Aug 18), launching what promises to be a frenetic fortnight of breathless sporting action featuring the best of the continent's athletes.

Athletes from Myanmar march during the opening ceremony. (Photo: Reuters/Issei Kato)

Some 13,000 athletes will compete in 40 sports and 67 disciplines, including new additions such as bridge, jet skiing and roller skating in the biggest multi-sport extravaganza outside the Olympics.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana Widodo attend the opening ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games at the Gelora Bung Karno main stadium in Jakarta on Aug 18, 2018. (Photo: AFP/Jewel Samad)

President Joko Widodo made an unorthodox and dramatic entrance to the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, riding a motorbike onto the stage before officially opening Indonesia's second hosting of the Asiad.

An actor impersonating Indonesian President Joko Widodo rides a motorbike during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games at the Gelora Bung Karno main stadium in Jakarta on Aug 18, 2018. (Photo: AFP/Jewel Samad)

"I hereby declare the 18^th Asian Games 2018 open," Widodo said in front of a 50,000-plus crowd at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium.

"We are proud, we are honoured by the arrival of the special guests from 45 countries."

"During the 18^th Asian Games we, the nations of Asia, want to show that we are one in brotherhood."

The centrepiece of the set was a huge model of a volcano around which 3,600 performers danced in various colourful costumes, entertaining an enthusiastic crowd and the millions watching around the continent on TV.

The climax of the ceremony came when former Olympic badminton champion Susi Susanti carried the Games' torch to the summit of the volcano and set off a spectacular display of fireworks.

Some 9,000 security personnel stood guard at the stadium, which has previously hosted, among others, Pope John Paul II, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi and Guns N' Roses as well as English Premier League sides such as Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Organisers have said 100,000 police and military personnel will be on duty to protect the Games, while facial recognition technology will be used at some of the venues.

The flag bearer marches ahead of athletes from Mongolia. (Photo: Reuters/Issei Kato)

Esports debuts as an official demonstration sport in Indonesia, which volunteered to host the Games after Vietnam pulled out in 2014.

North and South Korea marched together at the opening ceremony and will field joint teams in several events. South Korean women's basketball player Lim Yung-hui carried the blue and white flag as the Korean athletes paraded into Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno stadium.

Kuwait will participate under their own flag a couple of days after the International Olympic Committee lifted their ban.

Athletes from Nepal march during the opening ceremony. (Photo: Reuters/Issei Kato)​​​​​​​

The Games, which conclude on September 2, are the first co-hosted by two cities with Palembang on the island of Sumatra acting as venue for some sports along with the capital Jakarta./.

VNF/Reuters