(Reuters) – The 2023 Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) World Beach Games scheduled to be held in Bali next month have been cancelled after the Indonesian city withdrew as hosts, giving the ANOC no time to find an alternative.
“It is with great surprise and extreme disappointment that ANOC has learnt that the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) has withdrawn from its commitment to host the ANOC World Beach Games and the ANOC General Assembly in August 2023,” it said on Tuesday.
Bali was set to host the second edition of the World Beach Games and the event included 14 sports like beach soccer, beach volleyball and surfing. Doha hosted the inaugural edition in 2019.
“With the Games scheduled to take place in one month, the decision at such late notice prevents ANOC from being able to find an alternative host.
“So there is no option but to cancel this year’s edition of the Games in Bali in August as well as the ANOC General Assembly.”
The ANOC said the KOI had informed the body that the budget for the Games was not released by the Indonesian government.
“While there have been challenges in the Games preparations, as at any major multi-sport event, ANOC had been regularly assured by the KOI that solutions would be found and the Games would go ahead as planned,” it added.
KOI chief Raja Sapta Oktohari told Reuters on Wednesday the budget for the event had not been disbursed and said it withdrew from hosting the event because “it would be too risky”.
Indonesia’s sports minister Dito Ariotedjo on Wednesday expressed regret for the cancellation and said the budgeting process was long, adding 446 billion rupiah ($29.71 million) had been approved for the event but was still being reviewed by the finance ministry.
A finance ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Indonesia was stripped of the rights to hold Under-20 soccer World Cup this year.
The decision was taken after the country’s football federation (PSSI) said it had cancelled the draw because the governor of the largely Hindu island of Bali refused to host Israel’s team.
($1 = 15,010.0000 rupiah)
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, Ananda Teresia and Stefanno Sulaiman in Jakarta; editing by Ed Osmond)
