The 2023 Pacific Games, officially known as the XVII Pacific Games, will be a

continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

for

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

countries and territories that is scheduled to be held in

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lie ...

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

between 19 November and 2 December 2023. This will be the first time the Solomon Islands would host the

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2019 in Apia, Samoa. The Games were ...

. The Games were originally scheduled for 16–29 July 2023. However, in July 2021, the Games organizers requested a date change due to delays in preparation for the games caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Solomon Islands.

Host selection

Two countries expressed interest and launched bids for the 17th games.

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

, which hosted the event in 1971 and 1995, was the first to express their intentions in hosting the 2023 Games during the Pacific Games Council (PGC) General Assembly in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

in July 2015. The other bidder, the

, in 2016 expressed interest with Prime Minister

Manasseh Sogavare Manasseh Damukana Sogavare (born 17 January 1955) is the sixth and current Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, serving since 24 April 2019. He previously held the office in 2000–2001, 2006—2007 and 2014–2017; in all he has served over ni ...

launching the country's bid for a potential first time host of the quadrennial event. On 11 May 2016, during the PGC General Assembly in

Port Vila Port Vila (french: Port-Vila), or simply Vila (; french: Vila; bi, Vila ), is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. It is located on the island of Efate. Its population in the last census (2009) was 44,040, an increase of 35% on the pr ...

, with the decision taken by the 22 members of the PGC awarded the hosting rights to the Solomon Islands. The margin of victory was reportedly a single vote.

Development and preparation

The 'Pacific Games 2023 Act 2017' created the National Hosting Authority (NHA) as the 2023 Pacific Games Hosting Authority to manage the duties of the committees created by the Act, including the Games Organizing Committee, Games Facilities Committee, and NHA Secretariat. The NHA's responsibility is to oversee the 2023 Pacific Games overall by making sure the Solomon Islands Pacific Games Association and the Government fulfill their obligations under the host contract and by managing the Games' financial planning and budgeting. This strives to ensure vital connection between public services, venues, and building. Additionally, NHA makes sure that the provisions of the Pacific Games 2023 Act (2017) are followed and upheld.

Venues

The games will take place in 11 venues spread across the host city of

. The 2023 Pacific Games' sport venues are conveniently close to one another and can be reached in 5 to 30 minutes. The following venues have been confirmed: * Solomon Islands National Stadium/Main Stadium (new) – Opening Ceremony, Closing Ceremony, Athletics * Friendship Hall (new) – Indoor sports *Don Bosco Institute Hall (renovated) – Karate * Honiara Golf Club (existing) – Golf * HCC Sports Precint (existing) – Basketball, Boxing **

Lawson Tama Stadium Lawson Tama Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Honiara, Solomon Islands. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium is unique as the stand is built into the hillside so there is no official capacity but no more than 20,000 ...

(existing) – Football * Maranatha Hall (existing) – Bodybuilding, Powerlifting and Weightlifting *Aquatic Center (new) – Swimming * DC Park (existing) – Archery, Touch rugby, Sailing, Open water swimming , Va’a/Outrigger canoeing * King George Hockey Turf (renovated) – Field hockey * SIFF Academy (existing) – Football, Beach volleyball

Participating nations

It is expected that 24 countries and territories are to participate: the 22 Pacific Games Association's (PGA), and two Associate members - New Zealand, and Australia. Nine PGA's are confirmed for the games after qualifying teams for basketball. * * * (12) * * (24) * (24) * * * * (24) * * * * * * (24) * (24) * (32) (Host) * (24) * * (12) * * *

Sports

As amended in the Pacific Games charter on 14 July 2019, in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

, Samoa, the programme of the Pacific Games shall consist of a maximum 24 sports. The following sports are scheduled for the games:

Calendar

References

{{Countries at the 2023 Pacific Games Pacific Games by year

2023 in Oceanian sport