The 8th Asian Games (เอเชียนเกมส์ 2521) were held from December 9 to 20, 1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore, but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, was decided to host the 8th Games. But Islamabad also dropped its plan to host the Asian Games due to conflicts with Bangladesh and India.
Thailand offered to help, and the Asiad therefore was held in Bangkok. On the political front, Israel was expelled from the Asian Games. A total number of 3,842 athletes, coming from 25 countries, competed in these Asian Games. Debuting sports were archery and bowling.
