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A number of District Council chairmen and vice-chairmen toured two competition venues of the East Asian Games (EAG) this afternoon (July 8) to see the state of Hong Kong's readiness for this large-scale international sports event.
Accompanied by the Acting Director of Home Affairs, Miss Adeline Wong, they first visited the Hong Kong Coliseum where they were received by the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Thomas Chow, and given a guided tour of the renovated facilities there. The Coliseum will be the venue for the games' volleyball and basketball competitions in December.
After listening to an introduction on improvement works and new facilities, they went to the doping control station custom-made for international sports events to learn more about doping control measures for the EAG.
The next stop of the visit was the Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground. It will not only be the venue for the EAG's track and field events but also provide facilities for the development of both community and elite sports in Hong Kong.
The councillors were briefed on the environmentally friendly design concepts of the sports ground. The nine skylights above the spectator stand not only penetrate natural daylight but also symbolise the nine participating countries or regions of the EAG.
"We thank the 18 District Councils for their strong support for the EAG," said Miss Wong. "The councils have been organising activities in the community in response to the theme of 'Green, Cultural and Energetic EAG', such as green activities, wall painting contests, photography and sport activities."
"The District Offices will continue to work closely with the District Councils to enlist public support for the games and to bring enthusiasm for sports to the community," she added.
From December 5 to 13, more than 3,000 athletes from the nine EAG participating countries or regions, namely China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Hong Kong China, Japan, Korea, Macao China, Mongolia, Chinese Taipei and Guam, will gather in Hong Kong to take part in the 5th East Asian Games.
Ends/Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Issued at HKT 19:01
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