Asian Games Organizers Cite Paperwork in Costa Serena Delays

The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee on September 22 blamed incomplete delegation paperwork for boarding delays on the Costa Serena, docked in Nagoya, Japan, rejecting allegations that it had failed to provide accommodation information. It also denied responsibility for meals criticized at the teqball competition venue.

More than 4,000 athletes and officials are staying aboard the vessel as part of accommodation arrangements for more than 17,000 Games participants. Organizers chose a combination of hotels, temporary wooden cabins and cruise accommodation to avoid the expense of building a dedicated athletes’ village.

The committee, known as AINAGOC, issued its response on its website after delegations posted complaints about boarding on September 16, three days before the opening ceremony. It said resolving the documentation problems required additional coordination time.

Costa Cruises and JTB Corporation are handling the ship accommodation operation under delegated arrangements, according to the committee. AINAGOC said it was working with both companies to accommodate delegations.

Some Indian athletes waited about 14 hours for accommodation and slept on an airport floor. India’s chef de mission, Sahdev Yadav, also raised complaints before the Games opened.

“The accreditation process is quite lengthy and is being done on the cruise, so it is taking a lot of time,” Yadav told reporters on September 18.

Yadav said his delegation’s accommodation allocation had been reduced on arrival, forcing it to arrange hotels at short notice. The team had booked 18 rooms and planned to add another 10 that day, while also arranging its own vehicles.

Committee separates venue meals from accommodation catering

The food complaints concerned the teqball venue, where Thailand’s coach had criticized small portions and limited vegetable choices. AINAGOC said the teqball federation arranged those meals under a cost-sharing agreement reached when the Olympic Council of Asia added the sport to the program.

For catering at accommodation sites, the committee said it had scheduled meal services around competitions and training. Contracted providers were also addressing requests from national Olympic committees concerning food allergies and religious or cultural dietary requirements.

AINAGOC said it would listen to delegations and make necessary improvements.

Charter forms part of temporary lodging plan

Organizers put the vessel’s charter cost at about 4.5 billion yen ($28 million) earlier this year. “This is the first time in Japan that a cruise ship is being used as accommodation for a big international sporting event,” organizing committee president Hideaki Omura said at the ship’s arrival ceremony.

The Olympic Council of Asia defended the wider lodging arrangements on September 18, saying everyone registered by the July entry deadline had received “games-appropriate accommodation.” Room-shortage complaints had nevertheless emerged from delegations, while South Korean basketball players criticized the length of beds in the temporary cabins.

Tayyab Ikram, deputy chairman of the Olympic Council of Asia athletes commission, addressed the choice at a news conference. “We don’t want to leave a white elephant after the games here,” he said.

The Games run through October 4. Athletes and officials will rotate on and off the ship as their events finish and other competitions begin.