Some S'pore athletes staying in cruise ship during Asian Games due to there being no athletes' village

Accommodations at the 2026 Asian Games have come under scrutiny.

This year’s Asian Games, hosted in Nagoya, Japan, have an estimated 17,000 athletes and officials. This is more than the estimated 15,000 they had prepared for.

The Olympic Council of Asia had decided against building an athletes' village to control costs, saying that it would have become a white elephant after the games.

Arrangements include hotels, a cruise ship, and even temporary wooden containers, reported ESPN Singapore. 

Singapore athletes

About 4,000 athletes and coaches will be housed on the Costa Serena ship, which has 1,500 cabins, according to The Straits Times.

Amongst them are Singaporean athletes, including those from the women's water polo team and wushu.

The Singapore water polo team's Juni Ong told Mothership that the accommodation onboard the ship was "small but comfortable".

"We were lucky to receive a room with a balcony which is great since we play water polo and always need to dry things like our suits, robes and caps," she said.

Karate athlete Isaiah Tang told Mothership that Team Singapore sourced hotels for his team after organisers said there were insufficient accommodations for them.

Japanese organisers reportedly told late additions to the games to find their own accommodation, reasoning that the host city agreement had only specified a delegation of 15,000 people.

Tang posted on his socials on Sep. 19 saying that his hotel was quite "cosy" and expressed gratitude to Team Singapore.

He added that he has heard of athletes from other countries who were unable to find accommodations and were "stranded".

Singaporean triathletes Tey Yi Jun and Luke Chua also posted about their unique accommodation furnishing.

Their bed frames and bike stands were interestingly made out of cardboard. These were also seen at the athletes’ villages during the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics.

Subpar accommodations amid bad weather

Meanwhile, around 2,000 guests were accommodated in wooden container huts used for disaster evacuation facilities, BBC reported.

Some participants have criticised the accommodations, with the South Korean basketball association calling it the "worst it has ever been".

The situation was exacerbated as record rainfall hit Nagoya last week, prompting a substantial number of athletes to be briefly evacuated from the containers.

Roof leaks at the accommodation and sports venues were later reported.

Improvements

Organisers of the Asian Games have acknowledged the complaints by athletes and organisations.

Reuters cited the organisation manager as saying that concrete steps have and will continue to be taken to improve living conditions.

Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry reportedly called the container-style accommodations “beautiful”.

According to The Japan Times, she also admitted they were “a little tighter” than similar accommodation at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics earlier this year but said she did not understand the negativity around the accommodation.