Sports chief confident city can shine at Paris Games

Even with fewer local athletes competing this time, Yeung positive about medal prospects

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung is confident the city can win medals at the coming Olympic Games even though fewer local athletes are expected to qualify compared with four years ago.

Yeung yesterday said the sixhour time difference with host city Paris might prove to be a golden opportunity for the economy as residents could easily dine out before heading to watch their favourite sports at public showings in shopping centres, as he defended the government’s decision to purchase the broadcasting rights.

As of last month, 15 athletes from the city had qualified for the Paris Olympics to be held this summer, with some additional spots secured in the past few days, he said.

“We certainly hope for more [qualifying] participants, but the number may be slightly lower this year due to the performances of athletes in one or two team events ... they may not have been as competitive compared with others,” Yeung said.

“There is still a chance to have more [athletes qualify] from now to June. I think we need to wait and see.”

A record 46 athletes qualified for the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, taking part in 38 events.

Yeung yesterday said while he was sure athletes could bring home medals again this year, he would not be drawn on whether they could match the previous best of six at the last Games, which included a gold won by Cheung Ka-long in fencing.

“The most important thing is that our athletes give their best when taking part with everyone’s support in performing at their expected level or even exceeding expectations. I believe that in itself is an achievement,” Yeung said.

Authorities have once again bought the rights for three local free-to-air television stations – TVB, ViuTV and Hoy TV – and public broadcaster RTHK to show the Games without charge.

Yeung said the decision had taken into account the overall societal benefits and the government’s role in promoting sports.

“We can set conditions such as the number of hours of coverage and requirements to broadcast Hong Kong athletes’ competitions and prioritise national athletes’ events,” he said.

“These conditions are easier to enforce when there are no financial obligations.”

He said the government had acquired complete broadcasting rights, allowing the television stations to stream the Games online.

The time difference between Hong Kong and Paris might not be a disadvantage, Yeung said, adding that the one-hour gap for the Tokyo Olympics posed challenges for those who wished to watch but were busy at work.

“The current time difference could make it easier for individuals to watch the Games. They could choose to watch after work or tune in after dinner [in shopping centres]. It may have positive effects on boosting the economy,” Yeung said. “If the Games are exciting and involve Hong Kong athletes, people will be willing to wake up in the middle of the night to support them,” he said. “Shopping centres are also willing to cater [for late events] if there is a demand.”

Yeung also touched on the National Games in November 2025, which was being jointly organised for the first time by Guangdong province, Macau and Hong Kong. The city will be responsible for hosting eight events, of which four will take place at the new Kai Tak Sports Park, including rugby sevens.

“Our principle is not to build new venues specifically for the National Games. While it would have been a delight to use the Kai Tak Sports Park [for more events], it was not our ultimate objective. So there is no notion of disappointment [about the number of events],” Yeung said.

“Of course having a good venue, we do hope to make the best use of it.”

He said the design of the sports park already took into consideration plans for crowd management and the authorities would further develop transport plans, such as increasing the frequency of franchised buses and MTR services.

Yeung said he believed the country had considered the “overall situation” when deciding to move the football and windsurfing competitions to Guangdong, instead of Hong Kong under an original plan.