The Macau torch relay session for the 15th National Games on Sunday morning lasted about one hour, with Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai concluding the event by saying in a speech that “every step of the torchbearers has showcased Macau’s urban charm of joint dedication”.
Sam also pledged to spare no effort in ensuring the successful organisation of the Games’ events in Macau.
The torch relay for the 15th National Games was held simultaneously in Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, marking the first tri-region torch relay in the history of the Games and the first time the torch has been carried in Hong Kong and Macau.
The 15th National Games will be held between November 9 and 21. For the first time, the Games will be held not just in one province, autonomous region or municipality but in three separate regions – Guangdong Province, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR).
After the launch ceremony was held at Shenzhen’s Lianhuashan (“Lotus Hill”) Park at 9 a.m. on Sunday, the torch relay started simultaneously in the four cities at 9:30 a.m.
The torch relay featured 200 torchbearers in total, with each of the four cities having 50 runners.
The relay in Macau was restricted to the peninsula, i.e., excluding Taipa and Coloane, with a total distance of 2.6 kilometres.
Macau’s torch relay began at Government Headquarters in Nam Van, where Sam lit the first torch from the cauldron and handed it to Li Yi, who won the women’s changquan gold medal for Macau at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023. “Changquan” is a wushu (Chinese martial arts) category.
In addition to Sam, the starting ceremony at Macau’s Government Headquarters was also attended by Central People’s Government Liaison Office in the MSAR Director Zheng Xincong, Foreign Ministry Commissioner in the MSAR Liu Xianfa, and Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Macau Garrison Deputy Commander Dai Jinsong.
The route in Macau passed several renowned landmarks and concluded at the UNESCO World Heritage-protected Ruins of St. Paul’s.
The final torchbearer Kuok Kin Hang, who won a bronze medal in the men’s karate at the 14th National Games, held in Shaanxi Province in September 2021, to become Macau’s first-ever medallist at the Games, carried the flame up the steps in front of the Ruins of St. Paul’s and lit the cauldron.
Nine of Macau’s 50 torchbearers were current or former Macau athletes.
The Games’ opening and closing ceremonies will be held in Guangzhou and Shenzhen respectively.
After the relay, the flames from the four cities were merged into a single flame in Guangzhou at the Guangdong Olympic Sports Centre, where the unified flame will light the main cauldron on November 9, officially opening the 15th National Games.
After the relay in Macau, which lasted about an hour, Sam said in a speech in front of the Ruins of St. Paul’s that the flame of the National Games symbolises brightness and hope, with the torch relay representing the transmission of spirit and the gathering of strength.
The chief executive said that “every step of the torchbearers has showcased Macau’s urban charm of joint dedication”, with each handover embodying the sportsmanship of unity and hard work.
Sam pledged that his government will spare no effort in ensuring the successful organisation of the Games’ events in Macau, adhering to the principles of “simplicity, safety, and splendour”, which, he said, will allow “the unique charm of Vibrant Macau to shine on a larger stage”.
The 50 torchbearers in Macau’s relay session comprised representatives from various segments of Macau’s civil society as well as those from the mainland.
The Macau torchbearers included former president of the Legislative Assembly (AL), Kou Hoi In, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam, Pun Weng Kun, who heads Macau’s preparatory office for the upcoming National Games, Sports Bureau (ID) Acting President See Lei Si Leng, as well as current lawmakers José Chui Sai Peng, Si Ka Lon, Ma Chi Seng, Alan Ho Ion Sang, and Wong Kit Cheng.
The torchbearers also included ex-legislators Andrew Chan Chak Mo, Chan Meng Kam, Dominic Sio Chi Wai, and Chan Hong.
The torchbearers also included civic leaders from various segments, such as Lao Ngai Leong, a veteran community leader of the city’s returned overseas Chinese community.
The torchbearers also included a representative from each of the city’s six gaming operators, namely Galaxy Entertainment Group Director Philip Cheng Yee Sing, Wynn Macau President Linda Chen Chih-ling, MGM China Chairwoman Pansy Ho Chiu King, her sister SJM Chairwoman Daisy Ho Chiu Fung, Sands China Sports Events Vice President Shen Yang, and Melco Director Chung Yuk Man.
The final torchbearer Kuok Kin Hang, a local karate athlete, carries the torch up the steps in front of the Ruins of St. Paul’s on Sunday. – Photo: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
