The 16th Pacific Games (), also known as Apia 2019, were held from 7 to 20 July 2019. The

Games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

were held in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, returning there for the first time since

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. It was the third time overall that the Pacific Games were held in Samoa. The event was initially awarded to Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, but the Tongan government officially withdrew from hosting it in May 2017, amid concerns the country could face economic difficulties if it proceeded. These Games included an additional discipline for

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, which is the 3x3 format, as well as the return of

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

and

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

which were not on the

2015 Pacific Games The 15th Pacific Games, also known as Port Moresby 2015 or POM 2015, was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, from 4 to 18 July 2015. It was the fifteenth staging of the Pacific Games as well as the third to be hosted in Port Moresby. More tha ...

program.

Host selection

First bidding process

In mid 2012, two cities were confirmed as serious bidders in hosting the 2019

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

. They were: *

Nukuʻalofa Nukualofa ( , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British ...

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and *

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeʻetē'', pronounced ; old name: ''Vaiʻetē''Personal communication with Michael Koch in ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific ...

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

(

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

) The final presentations of the bids were made on 19 October 2012 in Wallis & Futuna. Tahiti's presentation was led by the country's Minister for Education, Youth and Sports, Tauhiti Nena; Tonga's was led by Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala, by the President of the Tonga Association of Sport and National Olympic Committee, Lord Tupou, and by Minister for Sports Lord Vaea. Paea Wolfgramm, Tonga's only Olympic medallist at that time (he had won a silver medal in boxing at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

), spoke of the promise of sports development and was the highlight of both presentations. Tonga had never hosted the Games; its bid to host the 2015 Games had been defeated by

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

's. Tahiti had hosted the Games twice, in

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and

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. In its bid, French Polynesia emphasised "its successful experiences of hosting international sporting events". It noted that its planned investments in sports infrastructures would "intensify sport practice of several tens of thousands of citizens and rise to the high-level several hundreds of young Polynesians", and suggested that the Games would "contribute to a better insertion of our country" into the Pacific region, highlighting the positive values of a shared "Polynesian soul". In his written submission to the Pacific Games Council in April 2012, Tongan Prime Minister Lord Tuʻivakano referred to his country's transition to democracy with the November 2010 general election, and suggested that awarding the Games to Tonga would "send a strong and unmistakable signal in support of democracy in our region". The then-Minister for Sports Sosefo Vakata asked the Council to grant the Games to a country that had not hosted them yet, in the name of equality and so that Tonga might enjoy "the benefits that other bigger economies in the region have enjoyed since the Game’s inception". He also reminded the Council that Tonga had the experience of having hosted the 1989 South Pacific Mini Games, though "nothing can equal the greatest gathering in the region which the Pacific Games is proud of". The country proposed an upgrade of its sports facilities, notably the Teufaiva Stadium for athletics, the Lototonga Football Complex, and the ‘Atele Indoor Stadium to host six sporting events. A new sports complex would be built at Lototonga for a number of other events, as would a Lototonga Aquatic Centre.Tongan bid for the 2019 Games
Pacific Games Council Following its successful bid, Tonga hoped for investments to build venues and facilities, particularly from China and Japan."Tonga to host 2019 Pacific Games"
ABC Radio Australia, 19 October 2012

Tongan withdrawal

On Monday 15 May 2017 the Prime Minister announced that Tonga would withdraw from hosting the 2019 Pacific Games amid concerns the country could face economic difficulties if it staged the event. A spokesman for the Tongan Cabinet told Kaniva News that Prime Minister ʻAkilisi Pōhiva had decided to save the country from a "costly mistake".

Second bidding process

Following the withdrawal of Tonga as hosts, the Pacific Games Council set a deadline date (31 July 2017) of interested countries that would be willing to replace

. By the 31 July deadline, three countries expressed their interest in hosting the games. They are: *

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

(

)

Participating countries

Twenty-four nations competed at the 2019 games. Twenty-two Pacific Games Association members sent teams (the full complement of countries and territories), plus Australia and New Zealand.

Note: A number in parentheses indicate the size of a country's team (athletes and officials, if known).

Sports

A total of 26 sports were contested at this edition of the games.

Medal table

The medal tally of the 2019 Pacific Games:

Calendar

The following table provides a summary of the competition schedule.

Notes

Australia sent a team of 42 athletes. Guam: A team of 150 athletes and staff was sent to represent the territory in eleven disciplines at the games. New Caledonia sent 327 athletes. New Zealand sent 55 athletes.

References

{{Pacific Games Pacific Games by year

Pacific Games, 2019 2019 in Samoan sport International sports competitions hosted by Samoa Sport in Apia