[6] 7 world and 23 Asian records were broken during the games, while South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan was announced as the most valuable player.

[13][14] On November 12, 2000, voting for the 2006 venue took place during the 19th Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) General Assembly held in Busan, South Korea.

[34] The relay itself started on 8 October 2006 with a brief ceremony at the Doha Golf Club where the torch was lit with the theme of "Flame of Hospitality".

[35][36][37] With the involvement of over 3,000 people, the torch crossed eight former Asian Games host cities and the four Gulf Cooperation Council member states.

The torch travelled back to Doha held by Sheikh Joan Bin Hamad Al-Thani, and the journey around the city itself started on 25 November 2006 and lasted until the opening ceremony of the Games.

[41] In total the relay passed through 13 countries and 23 cities, visited several landmarks such as Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China along its way to Qatar.

[30] The emblem of the 15th Asian Games is an image of an athlete in motion which represents fearless manner of a sportsperson in face of challenges and obstacles.

[48] He represents energy, determination, sportsmanship spirit, commitment, enthusiasm, participation, respect, peace and fun; he is also described as a great sportsman.

[49][50] To promote the games, the organisers built a countdown clock and a giant statue of the official mascot, Orry, at the Doha Corniche.

[51] Touchscreen kiosks were set up at hotels, malls and businesses in the city to provide users with Qatar tourism and the games' information and details.

[53] The airline painted seven of its Airbus A330 in three distinct Asian Games liveries namely blue, red and yellow and produced television commercials and a special 80-page guide on the sporting event in its in-flight magazine "Oryx" as part of its Global Advertising Campaign to promote the sporting event.

[58][59] After a major upgrade, Khalifa Stadium had a new running track, a new tensile fabric roof structure on its western seating and an arch on its east part.

[63][64] Doha International Airport was expanded with the cost of US$1 billion in the run-up to the games to handle increasing air traffic volume and facilitate an estimated arrival of 10,500 athletes from 45 Asian countries,[65] while Qatar's state-owned public transport service, the Qatar Transport Company (Mowasalat) provided bus, taxi and limousine services in the city to spectators, athletes, officials and volunteers during the games.

Several musical artists such as Hong Kong's Jacky Cheung, India's Bollywood star Sunidhi Chauhan, Lebanon's Majida El Roumi and Spanish tenor José Carreras performed at the ceremony.

The ceremony ended with the lighting of the cauldron at the main stadium by Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani, son of the emir and captain of the Qatar equestrian endurance team.

[70] The games was officially opened by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

In the following calendar for the 2006 Asian Games, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day.

This segment included references to stories featured in The Nights like Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Sinbad the Sailor and Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp.

South Korean swimmer, Park Tae-hwan was announced as the best athlete of the Games, having won seven medals, three of them being golds from the swimming competitions.

As per tradition, the Qatari Armed Forces personnel lowered the OCA flag, which would then be carried by the students of Aspire Academy out of the stadium.

Sheikh Ahmad then passed the OCA flag to the mayor of Guangzhou, Zhang Guangning, as the city was to be the next Asian Games host in 2010.

[113] A special 10 minute handover segment called "Oriental Charm" was then presented to showcase Guangzhou as the next host city.

South Korean equestrian athlete Kim Hyung-chil died after falling off his horse on the morning of December 7 during the cross country competition which took place in the rain.

[120][121] After the horse, named Bundaberg Black, rolled over him,[122] he was taken to Hamad General Hospital, with his death later confirmed by the organizing committee.

[126] According to South Korea National Olympic Committee president Kim Jung Kil, sources on the course said that the horse mistimed his jump in the wet conditions and slipped.

[128] Christopher Hodson, vice president of the International Equestrian Federation, said the course was fit to ride when a full investigation into the accident was conducted.

Heavy rain poured down just after the end of opening ceremony, and many believed that the organizers did not have plans to deal with it, creating a chaotic situation.

[146] While volleyball also had three teams withdraw from the Games, Palestine withdrew due to the travelling difficulties caused by the closure of the Gaza Strip border.