Hong Kong Marathon organisers have ‘no plan’ to abandon 2022 race, but government approval still needed
- Discussions are under way to meet government’s anti-epidemic measures, following a resurgence of Covid-19 cases
- Plans to increase the number of entries to 37,000 are now under threat as recent events have only allowed a maximum of 500 participants
Standard Chartered Marathon organisers are trying to work out a plan to meet the government’s anti-epidemic measures to keep the 2022 event in place, but the original target of increasing entries to 37,000 seems unlikely under current restrictions.
“What we are trying to do is to satisfy government requests on the safety measures of the event so that all participants can run without any health concerns,” Kwan said. “It’s not easy as it seems the government has set aside a figure of 500 for sporting events and we cannot hold a marathon with that figure.
“We are having regular discussions with government officials almost on a daily basis and hope a solution can be found as soon as possible, because time is running very short. We still want the flagship to go ahead as planned because long distance running is very popular in Hong Kong and a lot of people are targeting to run at the annual marathon.”
Kwan said another reason to keep the event was because Hong Kong is due to host the 2023 marathon Asian Championships.
“If we can’t stage the event this year, the Asian governing body may consider moving it to another country as we cannot prove our organisation ability. That’s not something we want to see.”
The 2023 regional championships will be held on October 29, along with next year’s Hong Kong Marathon.
