{
  "id": 8613348,
  "title": "Typhoon put people off Asian Games opening ceremony, says official",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/typhoon-put-people-off-asian-games-opening-ceremony-says-official-8613348",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-20T04:35:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/09/20/typhoon-put-people-off-asian-games-opening-ceremony-says-official"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Asian Games opening ceremony in Nagoya, held at the 30,000-capacity Paloma Mizuho Stadium, saw thousands of empty seats despite an announcement claiming the event was sold out. Organizers attributed this to warnings of an approaching typhoon. Emperor and Empress of Japan were present, and fireworks concluded the ceremony with a \"rousing\" finish. Despite the stadium being officially sold out, parts of the arena were notably devoid of attendees. The Olympic Council of Asia's director general, Husain Al-Musallam, confirmed that a portion of the event was kept empty due to the Games flame, and that more than 70% of tickets had been sold. However, the typhoon warning and its subsequent shift contributed to the low turnout. No rain was reported during the ceremony, but heavy rain in Tokyo later caused issues for swimming events.",
  "summary": "There was no rain during the ceremony and the storm, having days earlier shaped as a potential threat, made a greater impact in the Tokyo region.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "China's 13-year-old Yu cruises as Asian Games swimming begins",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/chinas-13-year-old-yu-cruises-as-asian-games-swimming-begins",
        "published": "2026-09-20T03:29:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "China’s 13-year-old Yu cruises as Asian Games swimming begins",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/chinas-13-year-old-yu-cruises-as-asian-games-swimming-begins-8604692",
        "published": "2026-09-20T03:29:58.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "China's 13-year-old Yu cruises as Asian Games swimming begins",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/chinas-13-year-old-yu-cruises-as-asian-games-swimming-begins-8603827",
        "published": "2026-09-20T03:36:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Asian Games: India win first medal, clinch women’s 10m air rifle team silver",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/asian-games-india-win-first-medal-clinch-womens-10m-air-rifle-team",
        "published": "2026-09-20T04:04:21.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Times of India",
        "title": "India open Asian Games shooting campaign with silver in women's 10m air rifle",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/india-open-asian-games-shooting-campaign-with-silver-in-womens-10m",
        "published": "2026-09-20T04:32:10.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}