The One-Year Countdown Ceremony & the Launch Ceremony of the Mascot for the Sixth Asian Beach Games 2020 ("ABG 2020") was staged concurrently in Beijing and Sanya on November 28. The ABG 2020 press conference took place at the Media Centre in Beijing at 10:00 a.m., attracting the participation of over 100 journalists from home and abroad. At the conference, officials of the Sixth Asian Beach Games Organising Committee (SABGOC) introduced the latest preparation progress, announced that the torch relay of the Games would kick off on the 100-day countdown to the Games, and answered questions from the journalists. Officials of the OCA, General Administration of Sport of China, and senior officials from Hainan and Sanya government departments joined hands in activating the one-year countdown timer. In addition, the event also witnessed the selection of volunteer ambassadors and the release of the omnimedia matrix for the promotion of ABG 2020, covering the official website, WeChat, Weibo and Douyin accounts for the Games. The historic moment of unveiling the mascot of ABG 2020 was live broadcast on the big screen at the Launch Ceremony held in Beijing. The design concept of the mascot is inspired by Eld's deer, which is a Class I Key Protected Species unique to Hainan. It is named Yaya, a word associated with both Sanya and Asia, symbolizing the dynamic, interconnected and inter-dependent relationship among Sanya, Asia and other parts of the world. The Asian Beach Games is the largest beach sporting event Asia-wide. The Sixth Asian Beach Games will take place in Sanya from November 28 to December 6, 2020, with a total of 17 participating sports, such as Beach Soccer and Beach Volleyball. It will be the first continental-level multi-sport event to be hosted by Hainan as well as the only one of its scale to be staged in China in 2020. Aimed to present a "trendy, green, fantastic and magnificent" Asian Beach Games, the organising committee strives to "vitalise a city by hosting a successful Games". So far, progress in all areas of Games preparation has been on track, for example, over 8,000 volunteers are now undergoing professional training in batches; and the emblem and slogan in both Chinese and English (See ya in Sanya) for ABG 2020 have been revealed to the world. Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, OCA President, sent his regards via video. The event was graced by Mr. Raja Randhir Singh, OCA Honorary Life Vice President and President of the OCA Coordination Committee, Mr. Timothy Tsun-ting FOK, OCA Vice President, and Mr. Song Luzeng, OCA Vice President and Chairman of the OCA Sports Committee. Source: SABGOC Image Attachments Links: Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=352409 Caption: General Administration of Sport of China, and senior officials from Hainan and Sanya government departments joined hands in activating the one-year countdown timer.