The Government's Budget Is Not Disbursed, ANOC World Beach Games in Bali Canceled

Chairman of the 2nd ANOC World Beach Games Organizing Committee Raja Sapta Oktohari (right) with the Secretary General of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) Gunilla Linberg (left). (Photo via Antara)

JAKARTA - The 2023 ANOC World Beach Games (AWBG), which was scheduled to take place in Bali in August, has been cancelled. This cancellation was announced directly by ANOC or the Association of National Olympic Committees.

In its statement, ANOC learned that the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI/NOC Indonesia) had withdrawn from its commitment to host the ANOC World Beach Games and the ANOC General Assembly in August 2023.

"KOl stated that the decision was taken after the state government's budget was not released and there was no more time to organize this Olympics. ANOC is deeply disappointed by KOl's actions which will prevent the athletes out of 100 qualified NOCs from fulfilling their ambition to compete in these Olympics," said a statement from ANOC, as reported by Antara.

The decision, which was considered too late, meant that ANOC could not find an alternative host for the multi-branch beach sports event, which was only one month away from being held.

"So there is no choice but to cancel this year's edition of the Olympics in Bali in August as well as the ANOC General Assembly," continued the ANOC statement.

Regarding the ANOC General Assembly, a decision will be taken in the coming weeks regarding the new location and date.

Furthermore, ANOC conveys apologies to the NOC, the athletes, and the International Federation (IF) who have been committed partners for the event, and to fans around the world.

"Despite challenges in preparation for the Olympics, as with any major multi-sport event, ANOC is regularly assured by KOI that a solution will be found and the Games will go ahead as planned," ANOC said.

“ANOC and KOI meet for weekly coordination meetings, as recently as last week, and KOI has shown absolutely no problems that would lead to such an outcome. ANOC's immediate priority is to ensure athletes are supported and NOC and IF are compensated as best they can in light of the cancellation of the Olympics."

Previously, AWBG itself was planned to be held on August 5-12 in four clusters of locations in Bali, namely in Nusa Dua, Jimbaran, Kuta and Canggu.

AWBG Bali 2023 is planned to be attended by around 1.500 athletes from 130 countries. In addition to the AWBG, Bali will also have 205 delegates from around the world along with top officials from world sports organizations, namely the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), to the leaders of the International Federation who will attend the ANOC General Assembly on August 13-15.