Once known as the South Pacific Games, the Pacific Games is a multi-sport event similar to the Olympics with participating countries exclusively from around the South Pacific region only. The mission of the event is to encourage and develop sporting competition between the South Pacific Nations and their people.
The event was first held in 1963 and since then it has been held approximately every four years. The first-ever South Pacific Games was held at Suva, Fiji. It was originally held at intervals of every three years, but was expanded to four after the Tumon Games in Guam.
Some of the sports being competed in the Pacific Games are badminton, basketball, football, volleyball, weightlifting and many others.
In 2015, a total of 24 countries took part in the Pacific Games, boosted by the inclusion of Australia and New Zealand for the first time in the history of the Games. The two countries were invited to participate in four sports; sailing, taekwondo, rugby sevens and weightlifting.
In 1981, the Pacific Mini Games (formerly known as South Pacific Mini Games) was inaugurated, created to allow the smaller nations to compete against one another. It is also a multi-sport event but smaller than the main Pacific Games. It is also held every four years in the intervening years between the main games.
Trivia
In 2007, the football tournament at the Pacific Games formed part of the qualification to the FIFA World Cup. It was open for teams associated to the Oceania Football Confederation only, like teams from Federated States of Micronesia or Tuvalu.
At the 2019 Pacific games, Australia took part for the second time. Among the athletes at that year's Games was Samoa's 74-year-old Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele.
The next Pacific Games
2023: Honiara, Solomon Islands
2027: Pape'ete, French Polynesia
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