April 8, 2009 (Staff Zhang Zhe reporting from Damascus) – On April 7, 2009 (Beijing time), Road of Asia, an event jointly organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (GAGOC), arrived in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Syria was the last West Asian country visited by Road of Asia. The Road of Asia representative group carried out a two-day series of events to promote the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games and to interact with the local sports scene.

Syria has placed a high priority on receiving the Road of Asia group and promised to prepare for the Guangzhou Asian Games with the greatest enthusiasm.

The Road of Asia group arrived in Damascus in the evening of April 7, 2009. Head of the SOC Public Relations Department and IOC Member Salam Allawi received the group with great warmth at the airport. Salam Allawi described Syria as an open, enthusiastic, and friendly Arab country. The Syrian Olympic Committee (SOC) already learned a lot about Road of Asia’s progress from West Asian news coverage. Syrian officials hope that the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games will deepen the sports and cultural interaction between the people of Syria and China.

In the morning of April 8, 2009, the Road of Asia group visited the SOC. More than ten SOC officials including the SOC President, Vice President, and Secretary-General attended the stately meeting between the SOC and the Road of Asia representatives. During his speech, SOC President Fayssal Al-Bassri pointed out that last year’s Beijing Olympics has greatly boosted the morale of the people of Asia, including the people of Syria. The people of Syria hope that the Guangzhou Asian Games next year will continue China’s grand achievements in sports development.

Road of Asia Chief Representative and GAGOC Department of Ceremonies and Cultural Events Deputy Director Ning Xiaozhou then gave a detailed presentation on the preparations made to the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games as well as explained the underlying principles of the Guangzhou Asian Games slogan “Thrilling Games, Harmonious Asia.” After watching Road of Asia’s promotional film, Fayssal Al-Bassri shared that “Road of Asia symbolizes China’s harmonious relationship with other nations. SOC will do everything it can to support GAGOC. Syria promises to send out its largest and strongest ever contingent to next year’s Guangzhou Asia Games.”

Many local mainstream media outlets including Syrian National TV also covered the meeting. To questions about next year’s Asian Games opening ceremony next year, a topic that most concerns Syrian media, Ning provided some summary answers. According to Ning, GAGOC already assembled direction and production teams specially devoted to the opening and closing ceremonies of next year’s Asian Games. The preparations for the ceremonies are being executed as of this moment. GAGOC has already invited five world-class directors to design the sets, lighting, pyrotechnics, music, and choreography. The executive director for the Asian Games opening ceremony will be Chen Weiya, who was also executive director for the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony. “Combining Chinese and Asian cultures, we hope to put together an Asian Games that reflects our own unique attributes,” said Ning.

At the meeting’s conclusion, Chief Representative Ning presented GAGOC souvenirs to the SOC. The SOC, in turn, presented locally crafted silk as a gift to GAGOC. The SOC officials then signed the “Four Billion Strong Well Wishes” banner. The large-scale promotional event Road of Asia has thus successfully concluded its journey across ten West Asian nations.