Winter Asian Games in Harbin kick off with opening ceremony on Friday night

The 2025 Winter Asian Games in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin will kick off with its opening ceremony on Friday night.

The opening event will take place at the Harbin International Convention Exhibition and Sports Center at 9 PM Korea Standard Time.

It will mark the 9th Winter Asian Games, and the first in eight years since the Japanese city of Sapporo hosted the 2017 event, with the 2021 edition canceled due to the pandemic.

South Korea will have 148 athletes competing in six sports, with 64 gold medals up for grabs in 11 disciplines.