Japan’s hosting of the Asian Games with huts and a cruise ship is an example for other nations if they want to stage major events without breaking the bank, a senior Olympic official said Saturday.

The build-up to Asia’s biggest sporting spectacular has been overshadowed by a shortage of accommodation in Nagoya for the more than 17,000 participants. Some countries have also complained about the quality of the rooms, especially in the shipping container-style huts.

Japanese organisers did not build an athletes’ village, as is normally done, in a bid to cut costs. About 4,000 participants are housed instead on cruise liner Costa Serena, which is sitting in Nagoya’s port, with another 2,000 in the wooden huts. The rest are in hotels in the city and across Aichi prefecture.

Despite complaints from some teams, Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) director general Husain Al-Musallam said Japan should be applauded for trying to do something different.

-AFP