Asian Games 2018 Jakarta, Opening Ceremony: Date, Start Time, Live Streaming, TV Channel Information

Jakarta, Aug 17: The opening ceremony of the 18th Asian Games is scheduled to be held in Jakarta on Saturday (August 18) at the GBK main stadium.

Starting at 5:30 PM IST, the broadcast of the Opening Ceremony will commence on Sony Television network in India. At 6:15 PM IST is when the traditional 'Parade of Athletes' will get underway. Young javelin-thrower Neeraj Chopra will carry India's flag and lead the contingent.

Here is key information regarding the opening ceremony of the 18th Asian Games:

Venue: Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta

Time: 5:30 PM (IST)

TV Channel: Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 2, Sony ESPN

Live-streaming: Sony Liv

Artists/Performers:

The star-studded opening ceremony is expected to feature popular Indonesian singers Anggun, Raisa, Tulus, Edo Kondologit, Putri Ayu, Fatin, GAC, Kamasean and Via Vallen.

In line with the slogan 'Energy of Asia' that is mentioned all over the 18th Asian Games Jakarta Palembang 2018 campaign, the opening and closing ceremony for this year's Asian Games will carry the high spirit of 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika' that will explore the heritage of Indonesian through arts and cultural show, helmed by none other than Wishnutama, the CEO of Net Mediatama Television, as the creative director for 18th Asian Games Opening & Closing Ceremonies.

The opening and closing ceremonies are said to be a 'surprise item' by Wishnutama, will be showcasing many arts and cultural aspects of Indonesia, that will involve finest dancers, musicians and singers, artists, and will be held at Jakarta's own Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium.

Unique stage:

The ceremony stage, with features of 120-meter length, 30-meter width and 26-meter height, will showcase a towering mountain as its background, accompanied by Indonesian beautiful, unique plants and flowers. This stage, manually made by artists from Bandung and Jakarta, will also become the arena for a total of 4,000 dancers to perform, choreographed by top choreographers Denny Malik and Eko Supriyanto.

It is the first time when the biggest sporting event in the continent is being jointly hosted by two cities. However, Jakarta will stage the opening and closing ceremonies.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced a 572-member India contingent for the upcoming games to be held from August 18 to September 2, 2018. The Indian athletes from a total of 36 sports disciplines.