Pacific Games
A guide to the biggest sporting event in the region this year.
The 2015 Pacific Games, which kicks off in Port Moresby on July 4, is not just a sporting event, but a cultural gathering embracing the indigenous people that populate the vast expanse of the region. The Games have been two-and-a-half years in the making, and it will be the third time that Port Moresby has hosted the event.
This time, the Games come on the anniversary of 40 years of Papua New Guinea’s independence.
The PNG Government has committed PGK1.2 billion towards the Games for the renewal and construction of sporting infrastructure that will set the country up for decades to come and help attract events of international repute.
For the first time, the powerhouse sporting nations of the Pacific – Australia and New Zealand – will compete, but will be restricted to four sports: Rugby 7s, sailing, weightlifting and taekwondo.
The Games organising committee believes bringing in those two nations will help raise the standard of competition in the allocated sports, as well as bring the Games into the living rooms of Australians and New Zealanders.
More than 4000 athletes and officials from 24 countries will be housed in the new Games village at the University of PNG.
Twenty-eight sports will be contested, ranging from athletics and swimming, through to the more sedate lawn bowls, golf, and