Grand opening of 15th National Games celebrates unity and sporting excellence

The 15th National Games commenced with a spectacular opening ceremony in Guangzhou on Sunday, graced by the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The 75-minute ceremony, themed "Realizing Dreams for the Future," began at 8 PM at the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center. An audience of 80,000 witnessed an audiovisual extravaganza celebrating the unity of the Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The Hong Kong delegation, together with the delegations from Guangdong and Macau, marched into the stadium as the three cities are co-hosting this year's Games.

Hong Kong rower Chiu Hin-chun had the honor of carrying the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) flag as the delegation's representative.

The ceremony, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Lau Wai-keung, known for the "Infernal Affairs" film series, was divided into three acts and featured a star-studded cast.

The artistic performances seamlessly blended traditional Lingnan culture – including lion dances and dragon boat displays – with cutting-edge AI and VR technologies.

Cantonese opera luminary Elizabeth Wang Ming-chun performed alongside artists from mainland China and Macau. Hong Kong singers Joey Yung Tso-yi and Mike Tsang Pei-tak showcased the region's musical talent, while Andy Lau Tak-wah concluded the event with a performance of his famous song "Zhong Guo Ren" ("Chinese").

Prior to the opening ceremony, President Xi Jinping met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry and IOC Honorary President for Life Thomas Bach at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center.

President Xi emphasized that the Olympic spirit, an integral part of human civilization, embodies the aspirations of people for a better world and aligns closely with China's vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

"Earlier this year, we gathered in Harbin for the Asian Winter Games amidst ice and snow," Xi stated. "Today, we meet again in the warm, spring-like city of Guangzhou for the National Games. This reflects the strong and close partnership between China and the IOC."

President Xi also highlighted the National Games as China's largest and highest-level multi-sport event. He further stated that China will develop the GBA into a strategic pillar for "China's new development paradigm, a demonstration zone for high-quality development, and a pacesetter of Chinese modernization."

He expressed his confidence that this year's National Games will showcase not only new sporting achievements in China's new era but also the remarkable progress of Chinese modernization in the Greater Bay Area.

Ahead of the opening ceremony, President Xi also met with representatives of national model units and individuals in mass sports and competitive sports.