Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s National Museum is offering free admission to all athletes and officials during the Asian Games in Jakarta, August 18 to September 2.

"This program is the National Museum`s gesture to welcome the Asian Games` athletes, and to allow them to learn more about Indonesian civilization, history, diversity, and the richness of our culture," noted Head of National Museum Siswanto here on Friday.

The athletes and officials need only show their Asian Games` identity card to receive free admission to the museum.

To mark the Asian Games 2018, the National Museum will also re-open the A Building, which showcases historic and precious statues, as well as epigraphs from across the archipelago.

The A Building had been closed to visitors since 2016, due to renovations, and its collection moved.

"Tomorrow we will be re-opening it," Siswanto said.

During the Asian Games 2018, the National Museum and the Ministry of Education and Culture, will hold a special exhibition on Indonesian History as the host of Asian Games, which occurred for the first time in 1962.

The exhibition showcases photos, stamps, magazines, newspapers, and some souvenirs from the 4th Asian Games in 1962.

The 18th Asian Games opens on August 18, and is being held in Jakarta and Palembang. Indonesia, as the host of this second largest multisports event this year, has renovated some existing sports stadiums, including the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium complex in Jakarta, as well as built new sport venues, such as for slalom canoeing in Majalengka, West Java.

Apart from the sports venues, Indonesia also built an Olympic-standard athletes? village to accommodate the state-participants and their officials.

The games will be attended by 45 countries, and will feature 462 events in 40 sports, of which 32 are Olympic sports and eight are non-Olympic events.

Reporting by Aubrey Fanani
Editing by Azizah Fitriyani

Reporter: Antara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2018