Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu presided over a flag presentation ceremony on Wednesday for Hong Kong’s largest-ever delegation to the National Games, encouraging the 600 participating athletes to strive for excellence at the upcoming multisport event, which opens in 25 days.

The 15th National Games will be co-hosted next month by the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions alongside Guangdong province.

Lee said that the co-hosting arrangement — the first in the event’s history — reflects the unity and collective progress of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui, who accepted the flag on behalf of the delegation, announced a 50 percent rise in the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s incentive program: The recipient of each individual gold medal will pocket HK$750,000 ($96,475), while each team winning gold medals will share HK$1.5 million.

Hong Kong’s record 1,800-member delegation includes 602 athletes, 270 team officials and medical personnel, and 762 nonprofessional participants in 23 mass events.

Law said the co-hosting arrangement marks a “milestone” in deepening cooperation and integration within the Greater Bay Area, and is a testament to the central government’s recognition of the region’s event-hosting capabilities.

She commended Hong Kong athletes’ strong performances at major competitions, which include winning two gold and two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and two gold and five bronze medals at the 2021 National Games in Shaanxi province.

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These achievements, she said, “validate the SAR government’s direction in elite sports, and demonstrate fruitful, collaborative efforts in sports development”.

For the 2025-26 fiscal year, the government has allocated over HK$1 billion ($128.6 million) to the Hong Kong Sports Institute, supporting the training of more than 1,600 elite athletes across 39 sports.

Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, expressed hopes that athletes will build on this momentum.

“Our athletes bear a greater mission and carry the expectations of all Hong Kong residents. We hope they will give their best and achieve even more. The entire city will cheer for every brilliant moment,” he said.

Sarah Kwong Sze-oi, an 18-year-old javelin thrower who will make her National Games debut, said she will be “going all out”, and is eager to test her skills against national rivals. “I hope to do my best, but more importantly, to enjoy the competition together with my mainland peers,” she said.

Her event will take place at the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center in Guangzhou, a city she is familiar with from previous trips.

Ng Tsoi-yi, a member of the women’s dragon boat team, competed in a mass-participation event in Foshan in July, when she felt a “strong sense of belonging”.

“Having my family and friends there in the audience created an unmatched level of excitement and motivation,” she said.

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Ng achieved her best result in a major event in July’s event, finishing sixth in the 100-meter race with her team.