Indonesia officially marked its one year journey to the 2018 Asian Games after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo launched the countdown at the National Monument complex in Jakarta on Friday.

The countdown celebrations, held by co-hosts Jakarta and Palembang, showcased a modern Asian look infused with the traditional side of Indonesia.

A colossal dance, entitled “Ruwat Bumi,” under the leadership of Eko Supriyanto and Hartati, was presented before the official launch of the countdown pad.

The contemporary dance carried the symbol of a grateful Indonesia embracing the journey toward the 2018 games.

The key event came when Jokowi officially launched the countdown. Later, an interesting spectacle of 300 drones made the evening a merry one.

The President did not make any direct speech. Instead, he greeted everyone via recorded footage.

“The Asian Games has brought us in together. As hosts, we have to work hand-in-hand to create a successful 2018 Asian Games,” said Jokowi in the footage.

On the entertainment side, a number of international and Indonesian celebrities shared the stage — taking turns from the performers in Jakarta and Palembang.

American-based hip hop and electronic music group, Far East Movement, whipped the crowd into a frenzy with their hit song, “Like A G6.”

The audience went even crazier when one of the anticipated performers of the evening, South Korea’s Hyoyeon and Taeyeon — members of the popular Girls’ Generation, also known as SNSD, took to the stage.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s sweetheart Raisa and other celebrated musicians such as Tulus, G.A.C, Dira Sugandi and Judika were among the local stars exposing their A-class talent.

Apart from the merriment, Indonesia still has a lot to do ahead of the quadrennial event — the pinnacle of Asian-level sporting events.

After an update from the latest Coordination Committee Meeting earlier in the day, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) requested the Indonesian organizers to speed-up the construction of velodrome in Jakarta.

The cycling venue is scheduled to be finished in June 2018. OCA, however, wants it to be done earlier.

“The construction of some of the venues, which were planned to be completed in June 2018, we agreed to finish them by before April 2018,” said Hussain Al Musallam, the OCA’s director general and technical director.

Indonesia showed a positive response to the wishes of the OCA.

“The OCA is not happy with the June timeline,” said Gatot S. Dewa Broto, the secretary to the youth and sports minister.

“We’re now going to have the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry directly supervise the work. The construction is basically funded by the Jakarta administration,” added Gatot, who is the assistant to the head of the financial department in the Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee (Inasgoc).

The extended meeting between OCA and Inasgoc reportedly carried on until late Friday. In the meeting, the participants discussed the final number of sports, disciplines and events.

OCA wants an upgrade to the current 39 listed sports, set to feature in the 2018 games, to above 40.

Skateboarding and kurash are reportedly among the sports to be added to the list.

Al Mussalam said skateboarding had been included in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The sport, however, is still missing from the current runoff list for 2018.

There will also be changes to disciplines and events, though Al-Mussalam refused to elaborate on this.

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