National Games to make history in venues, athletes

RTHK

18-06-2025

National Games to make history in venues, athletes
Huang Mingzhong, director of the Office of the Organising Committee for the 15th National Games, said the entire event will feature 36,000 athletes in both competition and mass participation events. Photo: RTHK
The upcoming 15th National Games and 12th National Special Olympic Games are set to make history as China's largest multi-sport event, with organisers anticipating participation from more than 36,000 athletes.
Taking place from November 9 to 21, the 15th National Games will be co-hosted for the first time by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.
Following that, the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games will be held from December 8 to 15.
Huang Mingzhong, director of the Office of the Organising Committee for the 15th National Games, said the entire event will feature 36,000 athletes in both competition and mass participation events, 45,000 volunteers and 4,000 journalists.
"The 15th National Games will feature 57 events, while the Special Olympics will have 46 events, making this the largest National Games to date," he said in a press conference in Guangzhou.
The athlete count, he pointed out, would notably surpass the 2024 Paris Olympics, which had about 10,000 participants.
Also, events like diving and table tennis will showcase world-class competition levels, heightening global anticipation.
Huang said he hopes the venues across multiple cities will highlight diverse cultures and beautiful sights.
"This year's National Games and Special Olympics will not have a centralised athlete village," Huang said.
"Instead, competitions will be distributed across 19 cities, including Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, marking the most host cities ever for these events."
He added there are 105 venues for the Games, with more than 90 percent of them being refurbished ones rather than newly constructed.
He said the opening ceremony and closing ceremony will take place in Guangzhou and Shenzhen respectively.