The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today (April 1) that the 8th Hong Kong Games (HKG) has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 epidemic situation.
As affected by the pandemic, the 8th HKG, which was originally held in 2020 and 2021, has been postponed for a year to 2021 and 2022. The LCSD has temporarily closed most of its recreation and sports facilities since January this year in order to align with the tightened social distancing measures implemented by the Government. District athlete selection competitions therefore have still not been completed in some districts despite being re-scheduled twice. As a result, event dates of subsequent events including inter-district sports competitions, the Jockey Club Vitality Run – Virtual Run, the 18 Districts' Pledging cum Cheering Team Competition, opening ceremony and closing cum prize presentation ceremony could not be confirmed.
Taking into consideration the uncertain factors in organising the 8th HKG, and as some LCSD recreation and sports facilities will continue to be used for anti-epidemic purposes, after thorough deliberation of the 8th HKG Organising Committee, it has decided to cancel the 8th HKG in order to avoid people gathering and to reduce social contact, thus decreasing the risk of spreading COVID-19 in the community and safeguarding public health.
The HKG is a biennial major multi-sport event with the 18 District Councils as participating units. It aims to encourage the public to actively participate in sports events, enhance communication among districts, strengthen the public's sense of belonging to their districts and build community cohesion.
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