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SINGAPORE: The 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China are set to be the biggest ever.
And with just three months to go, preparations are moving along quickly, with competition venues expected to be ready by September.
Games officials were in Singapore on Tuesday to give an update on the progress.
The Guangzhou Games will see more events and athletes taking part.
For the first time, women's events have been included for sports such as boxing, kabaddi and water polo.
The Games will also be the largest in scale, with 70 venues.
Ji Lei, deputy manager for the Ticketing Division of the Guangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee, said: "Most of the stadiums are located in schools. So these will be used by students. Others are located in the community and can be used by residents. The larger stadiums can be converted into spaces for concerts and exhibitions."
The Games will put Guangzhou in the international spotlight.
And with over 300,000 visitors expected at the Games, the impact on tourism will be considerable.
Officials estimate that every $1 spent will generate a multiplier effect of about $5.
About three million tickets will be available to the public, and these are mostly priced between 10 and 400 yuan, or between S$2 and S$90.
Events like table tennis and gymnastics saw a strong response during the initial phase of sales in May, but organisers say there will still be tickets available to the public when the final round of sales begins in October.
Among the 14,000 athletes and team officials are representatives from Singapore - no doubt hoping to surpass their record showing of 27 medals in Doha in 2006.
The Games will run from 12-27 November.
- CNA/ir
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