Three administrative regions of China — Guangdong province and the Special Administrative Regions of Macau and Hong Kong — will co-organize the National Games in 2025, it was announced on the country’s government portal.
The proposal was approved by the State Council. It will the first time for both Hong Kong and Macau to host the Games.
The finances of the Games will rely on the three administrative bodies, on top of a one-off financial subsidy from the central government.
The General Administration of Sport of China and the three governments are required to comply with the directives of the Communist Party of China and the State Council to hold a Games of “simplicity, safety and brilliance,” with consideration of the social and economic status of each territory.
The central government also requires that existing venues be fully utilized and budgets rigorously monitored to better control the costs, standards and scale of the Games. Pandemic control is also a topic of concern.
In response to the announcement, the Macau government issued a statement to express happiness.
“The decision of allowing Macau to participate in the organization of the mega comprehensive sporting event, which has the highest status and largest scale across the country, invigorates local residents and athletes,” the local government stated.
It disclosed that the idea began with the Guangdong government inviting both SARs to discuss the possibility of co-organizing the 2025 National Games. After extensive study and discussion, the three governments decided that there would be sufficiently strong conditions to co-organize the event.
According to the statement, the local government expects that, by co-organizing the Games, progress will be made in the development of sport among the three territories, which will eventually align with the country’s overall development.
With the full title of the National Games of China, the countrywide event debuted in 1959. It takes place every four years in different provincial-level administrative bodies across the mainland.
The country’s capital of Beijing has organized the greatest number of Games, held five times in 1959, 1965, 1975, 1979 and 1993.
This is the third time Guangdong is organizing the Games, following previous efforts in 1987 and 2001.
An upcoming Games will open on September 15 this year in Shaanxi Province with 34 sports running, amounting to 387 events.
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