The Asian Games and our Community

“Ready for the Games?”

As you are fully aware by now, Guangzhou is hosting the 16th Asian Games which will commence in less than 2 months. This event is considered by most to be the debut opportunity to showcase Guangzhou on the world stage as a truly international city.

The event is part of China’s continual development and will most probably follow the models of the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo. Guangzhou has spent years planning the event, along with serious investment of capital with infrastructural changes to show the world that this truly wonderful cosmopolitan city of 17 million has come of age. Its unique culture of southern hospitality mixed with a multicultural population and its distinct differences to the other major cities of China have helped mould Guangzhou into a metropolis with cutting edge public transport and facilities that rival European cities. Guangzhou is the trading capital of China, but with these recent changes, factories and production houses that used to be the prominent view and primary reason to travel to Guangzhou, have now been relocated outside of the city. The development of parks and public gardens over the past 6 years has transformed cityscapes into lush swathes of parks and gardens.  

The governing bodies have also recognized that these developments require the participation of the local community, not only by its own citizens but also the many international expats that now call Guangzhou home. They have established a volunteer association that seeks advice and participation from all residents within the city’s boundaries to provide services and help visitors to traverse and explore this city with ease. This association is also pledges to help the expected 1.4 million national visitors who are expected to attend the Asian Games Celebrations.

“Calling all Gypsies”

OiFA is proud to be part of the Guangzhou community and to be participating in the Asian Games Volunteers Association. As an integral part of the association between international expats and multicultural mixing with the local community, the  Hua Le,  Yue Xiu District government and its invitational team have challenged The Guangzhou Gypsies to a tournament game of 11 per side to be held in October. This game will be attended by dignitaries and spectators as a preliminary build up to the main event of the Asian Games. We are requesting all original Gypsies to contact us to begin training so we can duplicate our success of the Hong Kong tournament here on our local turf. This event will be highly publicised, with televised highlights; a time to wear the colours with pride again!

We look forward to seeing you all on the pitch ready to roar and represent…

Lindsay Jarvis.