Digital torchbearers for Hangzhou Asian Games exceed 100 mln

The digital torchbearer program for the Hangzhou Asian Games achieves a milestone moment as the total number of participants exceeds 100 million on Sept.15, 2023. (Photo courtesy of the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee)

On Sept.15, the digital torchbearer program for the Hangzhou Asian Games achieved a milestone moment as the total number of participants exceeded 100 million.

The extensive participation makes the digital torchbearer program for the Hangzhou Asian Games an online torch relay event that covers the widest range of regions, involves the most participants, and lasts the longest in the games' history.

The Hangzhou Asian Games will become the first event in Asian Games history to have a digital ignition ceremony at the opening ceremony.

In November 2022, the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC) launched the groundbreaking digital torchbearer program globally and invited people worldwide to become digital torchbearers. In June 2023, the Asian Games flame was lit at the Liangzhu ancient city in Hangzhou, marking the start of the world's first blockchain-based torch relay event.

Over the past three months, internet users from over 130 countries and regions have become Asian Games digital torchbearers by participating in the online torch relay. The oldest participant is 98 years old, while the youngest is 12 years old. People aged 20 to 39 years old account for 64 percent of the participants.

The online torch relay event has transcended the constraints of time and space, enabling internet users worldwide to spread the Asian Games flame in the digital realm.

To create a digital representation for each of the users, the digital torchbearer team for the Hangzhou Asian Games used AI and other technologies for facial customization, motion capture, and costume design.

They conducted thousands of motion captures and created hundreds of thousands of design drafts, resulting in a total of 2 trillion possible appearances for the digital torchbearers, ensuring that each digital torchbearer is unique.