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The 5th Hong Kong Games (HKG) opening ceremony, attended by an audience of more than 7,500 from 18 districts, was held at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom this evening (April 25).
The Acting Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, attended the ceremony and announced the official opening of the 5th HKG.
Addressing the audience and athletes at the ceremony, the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing said that 3,200 athletes from 18 districts will compete in eight sports competitions, namely athletics, badminton, basketball, futsal, swimming, table tennis, tennis and volleyball.
Mr Tsang pointed out that the significance of sports competitions lies not just in the pursuit of high performance but also in the enhancement of friendship, a can-do spirit, perseverance and fairness.
Mr Tsang urged members of the public to show up at the competitions to cheer for the athletes. They can also participate in the different community involvement activities in order to share the spirit of "Our City, Our Games".
At the official ceremony this evening, eight elite athletes representing the eight sports of the 5th HKG held an HKG flag aloft and led the athletes representing the 18 districts into the Coliseum.
After the Acting Chief Executive announced the official opening of the Games, an athlete representative from Yuen Long District, the overall champion of the 4th HKG, took an oath on behalf of all the participating athletes at the Games.
Following that was a cauldron lighting ceremony performed by the Asian Games Incheon 2014 gymnastics - men's vault gold medallist, Shek Wai-hung; the Asian Games Incheon 2014 windsurfing - men's mistral gold medallist, Cheng Kwok-fai; and artiste Alan Tam.
The ceremony featured a host of wonderful programmes including performances by 18 district cheering teams starting off the pre-show and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong playing the HKG theme song "Come On Games On", as well as a luminous dragon dance, Latin dance, street dance and artistic rope skipping. Local pop singers Hacken Lee, Kandy Wong and Tat Dik, and girls group Super Girls, also performed in the show.
Highlights of the opening ceremony will be broadcast by TVB Jade at 10.45pm tonight, and will also be rerun on HD Jade at 11am on May 1.
The HKG is a territory-wide major multi-sport event held biennially since 2007 with the 18 districts as participating units. It is organised by the Sports Commission and co-ordinated by the Community Sports Committee with the 18 District Councils; the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China; relevant National Sports Associations; and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) as co-organisers.
This year's HKG is the fifth event. All competitions will be held at venues of the LCSD and are open to the public for free viewing. Competition schedules are available on the HKG designated website: www.hongkonggames.hk.
Ends/Saturday, April 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 21:50
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