Organisers at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya, Japan, played the wrong national anthem three times this week. Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa apologised on Wednesday, weeks after the city hosted the Asian Games, which were also marred by mishaps.
The latest errors happened even though officials had promised steps to prevent such mistakes, including making sure the correct anthems were played.
Mayor Hirosawa apologises for repeated anthem errors
The Asian Para Games runs through Saturday in the central Japanese city, with about 4,000 athletes and officials taking part in 18 sports.
Speaking at a news conference, Hirosawa said the earlier problems at the Asian Games had prompted a review of operations. “The fact that it happened again is really just unacceptable,” he said.
Iranian and Mongolian anthems played in error at taekwondo events
On Monday, a Taiwanese athlete won a men’s para taekwondo competition, but the Iranian anthem was played in full, according to Nagoya officials. They said the mistake was only realised after the ceremony.
The same day, the Iranian anthem was played again during a women’s para taekwondo ceremony as a Mongolian competitor received her gold medal. The music was stopped after the Mongolian delegation flagged the error, and organisers then played the Mongolian anthem using music supplied by the delegation.
Separately, officials broadcast the South Korean anthem for about five seconds instead of the Chinese one before a sitting volleyball match between China and Iran. The mayor said, “It is unacceptable, or rather, it’s painful. I am very sorry about it,” adding that the tournament was otherwise progressing smoothly.
