Hangzhou Asian Games theme song launched

The official promotional song of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games — Now Until the Future — made its debut on Tuesday, starting the 200-day countdown to the much anticipated international sporting event.

The Games had been rescheduled for Sept 23 to Oct 8.

Led by renowned singer Wei Wei, the music video features more than 100 athletes and celebrities from home and abroad, such as short-track speed skater Wu Dajing, pop singer Zhou Shen and singer Lyu Wei.

Wei Wei is a Chinese vocalist who sang Heroic Asia, the promotion song of the 1990 Beijing Asian Games.

"The 1990 Beijing Asian Games was the first time that China hosted a large-scale international sports event. At that time, I was fortunate enough to sing Heroic Asia with Liu Huan. I was in my 20s at the time, and I was as excited as people across the whole country," Wei recalled.

"From 1990 to 2023, from Heroic Asia to Now Until the Future, I am deeply honored to sing songs about our Asia." Wei said. "I hope to share more with others through music."

Chinese musician Zhao Xinyue (also called Nineone), one of the lyricists and composers of the song, said, "Hangzhou gave me a deep impression of its modernization and technology, so I decided to create the song with the idea of going to a better future together. This is the third time that China has hosted the Asian Games. As a contemporary young musician, I hoped to bring vitality to this song, so I chose to present it with such a brisk, lively, bright and rhythmic style."

The lyrics of the song focus on themes such as dreams, unity, faith and love, aiming to present a beautiful Asian Games to the world: "Hand-in-hand, heart-to-heart, enhancing life with delight, the sweat on our face, more power, more emotion, hand-in-hand, heart-to-heart, around the world we give it our all. We believe, we shout, more power, more emotion, across the sea our dreams come together and never die, from now until the future, we go beyond the limit and bring the dream alive."

A highlight of the song is the extensive use of onomatopoeia — words that sound like the thing they signify — as well as voice layering, which showcases the strength of the Chinese people and the unity and energy generated by the sports event.