Chief of the Papua Police Inspector General Mathius D. Fakhiri has said that all preparations have been made for the safe conduct of the opening ceremony for the National Sports Week (PON) XX.

The ceremony will take place at the Lukas Enembe Stadium in Jayapura District, Papua Province, on Saturday.

“To safeguard the Papua PON ceremony, tomorrow, we as law enforcement authorities, specifically the police and our friends from the army, are ready,” Fakhiri stated in a press conference at the Jayapura district cluster’s media center at the Grand Allison Sentani on Friday.

Fakhiri also invited all citizens to help preserve safety and comfort for the successful opening of the Papua PON.

“We can also show to all citizens outside of Papua province that Papua can be a successful host for PON,” he asserted.

Papua PON will officially be opened by President Joko Widodo, who arrived in Jayapura on Friday noon local time. During the opening ceremony, strict health protocols will be implemented to check COVID-19 spread.

The committee has restricted the number of spectators to 25 percent of the total capacity of the Lukas Enembe Stadium, which can hold 40 thousand people. Though the ceremony will be conducted tomorrow, there are a number of sports branches that have already held matches.

The people’s enthusiasm has been extraordinary, Fakhiri remarked.

“I am grateful to this day that the situation in Papua as a whole is very safe, comfortable, and conducive,” he added.

“Of course, we, who are mandated by the state and PON’s organizer to ensure safety, will do the best we can,” he asserted.

The PON XX will be held in Papua from October 2 to October 13, 2021. Athletes from 34 provinces of Indonesia will compete in 37 sports disciplines at the event.

After the registration, the number of athletes participating in the event has reached 6,144. After including the 922 host athletes, the total figure stands at 7,066 athletes.

Source: Antara News