National Games opening ceremony set for Nov 9 in Guangzhou

The 15th National Games opening ceremony will take place on November 9 in Guangzhou, with humanoid robots leading the torch relay procession, adding a technological highlight to the event.

The mega sports event, jointly hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau for the first time, will have no less than 65 percent of tickets available for public sale.

Tickets will be sold in phases under a real-name registration system across three regions. Pricing details are still being finalized and are expected to be announced by September at the earliest.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Cui Jian, head of the Sports Bureau of Guangdong Province, said: “We plan to allocate no less than 65 percent of venue seats for public sale. Ticket sales will be divided into two phases, real-name registration and pre-event sales, with the total number of tickets available being the largest yet.”

“We expect it to approach or even surpass the scale of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games,” he added.

The organizing committee also confirmed participation from top Chinese athletes, including table tennis stars Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, Olympic diving champion Quan Hongchan, and top tennis player Zheng Qinwen.

Most finals will be scheduled for weekday evenings and weekends, with the opening ceremony hosted at Guangzhou’s Guangdong Olympic Sports Center on November 9.

To reflect the Games’ Greater Bay Area theme, exclusive Hong Kong-themed souvenirs, such as mascots wearing shrimp dumpling hats or perched on egg tarts, will be sold only in Hong Kong.

(Cheng Wong)