ANOC World Beach Games 2023 Cancelled after Bali Withdraws as Host

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) announced that the 2023 ANOC World Beach Games Bali slated to be held next month is canceled. This is conveyed in ANOC's official statement on Tuesday, July 4, 2023.

“It is with great surprise and extreme disappointment that ANOC has learned that the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) has withdrawn from its commitment to host the ANOC World Beach Games and the ANOC General Assembly in August 2023,” ANOC said on Tuesday.

ANOC added that it could not find a replacement host because of the sudden notification while the multi-branch beach sports event is scheduled to take place in the coming month.

“So there is no option but to cancel this year's edition of the Games in Bali in August as well as the ANOC General Assembly.”

The new location and schedule for the ANOC General Assembly will be decided in the coming weeks.

“KOI stated the decision was taken after the budget was not released by the government of the country and there is now no time to deliver the games. ANOC is very disappointed by the KOI’s actions which will deny athletes from 100 qualified NOCs from fulfilling their ambitions of competing at the games,” the ANOC said.

ANOC thus offered apologies to NOCs, athletes, and the International Federation (IF), as well as fans around the world.

“While there have been challenges in the Games preparations, as at any major multi-sport event, ANOC had been regularly assured by the KOI that solutions would be found and the Games would go ahead as planned,” the ANOC added.

It was claimed that ANOC and KOI met for weekly meetings last week and KOI did not indicate any problem that would lead to the event cancellation. “ANOC’s immediate priority is to ensure the athletes are supported and the NOCs and IFs are compensated as best as possible in light of the Games cancellation,” ANOC emphasized.

The 2023 ANOC World Beach Games was initially scheduled to be held on August 5-12 in four clusters of locations in Bali, namely Nusa Dua, Jimbaran, Kuta, and Canggu. About 1,500 athletes from 130 countries would participate in the games. There would also be 205 delegates and top officials from world sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for the ANOC General Assembly on August 13-15, 2023.

ANTARA

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