Main stadium expanded to 30,000 seats, but crowd enthusiasm falls short of expectations
North Korea among delegations that walked out during performances, missing torch relay and lighting
![The finale performance unfolds at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on Saturday. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/19/rcv.YNA.20260919.PYH2026091910580001300_P1.jpg)
The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which had been dogged by controversy before they even began — over container-style athlete housing and the appearance of a figure representing Toyotomi Hideyoshi — failed to generate the anticipated excitement at their opening ceremony as well.
At the ceremony held Saturday at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, the atmosphere briefly lifted when the Japanese delegation entered. The mood soured in the latter half, however, as North Korea and some other delegations left their seats during the performances and did not return for the torch relay and lighting.
Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium serves as the Games' main venue, hosting track and field events as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Ahead of the Games, the stadium underwent nearly five years of renovation that expanded its capacity from 27,000 to 30,000 seats, and it reopened in April.
Yet the ceremony struggled to draw a full house, much like the broader ticketing picture: as of Sept. 7, fewer than 60 percent of tickets had been sold for 10 of the 41 sports on the program.
The atmosphere did warm as the parade of delegations got underway. When Japan — the 46th and final team to enter — marched in, cheers filled the stadium and the crowd briefly came to life.
The mood turned unsettled again in the second half of the ceremony. At around 7:25 p.m., while a performance introducing the region's history and traditions played out around a replica of Nagoya Castle on the stage, North Korea and several other delegations rose from their seats and began walking out of the stadium.
It is common for opening ceremonies to see only a fraction of each delegation attend, given competition schedules and training commitments. South Korea, for instance, sent just 50 of its 1,051-member contingent to the ceremony. Even so, some of those who did attend left early.
The delegations that left did not return for the torch relay or the lighting, and the ceremony ultimately concluded without them.
th5@heraldcorp.com
