The 2017 Asian Winter Games is the eighth Asian Winter Games

Asian Winter Games

The Asian Winter Games is a multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Olympic Council of Asia which features winter events. The Japanese Olympic Committee first suggested the idea of holding a winter version of the Asian Games in 1982...

 that will be held in Sapporo, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. These Games were originally scheduled for 2015. However, in the Olympic Council of Asia

Olympic Council of Asia

The Olympic Council of Asia is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current president is Sheikh Fahad Al-Sabah. The oldest NOC is from Japan and Philippines, recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1911; whereas East Timor is...

's general assembly in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 on July 3, 2009, the committee decided to move the Games within one year before the Winter Olympic Games

Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...

.

Sapporo and Obihiro were named as the host cities on January 31, 2011, as sole bidding city. The hosting contract was signed by Tsunekazu Takeda, the president of Japanese Olympic Committee

Japanese Olympic Committee

The Japanese Olympic Committee is the national Olympic committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan...

. It will be third time that Sapporo hosting the event and fourth time in Japan. Previously the city was held the Games in 1986 and 1990, and Aomori

Aomori, Aomori

is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 302,068 and a density of 366 persons per km². Its total area was 824.52 km².- History :...

 was held in 2003.

Bid

On January 31, 2011, Sapporo was awarded the right to host the Games. The decision was announced in OCA's general assembly during the 2011 Asian Winter Games in Astana

Astana

Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...

, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

. The bid was announced by Mayor Fumio Ueda

Fumio Ueda

is the mayor of Sapporo, Hokkaido in Japan. A native of Makubetsu, Hokkaidō and 1972 graduate of Chuo University, he was first elected in 2003 after an unsuccessful run in the same year prior to being elected....

 on January 15, 2011, with no other bidding city. The total cost is expected to be ¥

Japanese yen

The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...

3.5 billion.

Participation nations

The Vietnam Olympic Committee

Vietnam Olympic Committee

Vietnam Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee representing Vietnam.- External links :*...

 plans on sending a team to these games by inviting Vietnamese-Canadian and 2011 Canadian Junior champion in figure skating Nguyen Nam to compete for them. If Vietnam does compete, it will make its Asian Winter Games debut.

Sport disciplines

Apart from the usual sports, bandy

Bandy at the Asian Winter Games

Bandy has been featured as a sport in the Asian Winter Games since the seventh Winter Games in 2011. The organisers of 2017 Asian Winter Games also plan to include bandy.-Medal table:...

 is planned to be included again in 2017 according to Boris Skrynnik, President of Federation of International Bandy

Federation of International Bandy

The Federation of International Bandy is the international governing body for the sport of bandy. It was formed in 1955 in Stockholm, Sweden, and has had its base in Sweden since 1979. The present offices are situated in Katrineholm....

 and All Russian Bandy Federation

All Russian bandy federation

The All Russian bandy federation is the governing body for bandy in the Russian Federation. It was formally founded in 1992 even if it has been a member of the Federation of International Bandy in its own right since 1991, when it replaced the old Soviet federation. Its history goes back to 1898....

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