Solomons Islands wins 2023 Pacific Games bid

THE Solomon Islands have beaten off competition from Tahiti to secure the hosting rights for the 2023 Pacific Games, it was announced yesterday.
The decision was taken by the 22 members of the Pacific Games Council at the organisation’s general assembly in Vanuatu.
The margin of victory was reportedly a single vote.
It represents a shock result as Tahiti were considered the favourites to land the event, with PGC executive director Andrew Minogue saying at last year’s edition of the Games that they would be “tough to beat”.
The 2023 Pacific Games will be the first be held in the Solomon Islands, which hosted the inaugural Mini Games in 1981.
The nation, which has a population of less than 600,000, will be the eighth Pacific country to stage the quadrennial competition, following in the footsteps of Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia, Samoa, Guam and Tonga.
The decision of the PGC represents another blow to Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France, after they lost out to Tongan capital Nukuʻalofa in the race for the 2019 Games.
Both the Solomon Islands and Tahiti made their final presentations to the PGC’s members during the second and final day of their general assembly. The delegation from the Solomon Islands included Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who was granted special adjournment in Parliament for the trip, which came after the government had promised to financially back their bid.
Tahiti was the first nation to declare interest in the event, which is growing in popularity both in Oceania and worldwide following the debuts of Australia and New Zealand at Port Moresby 2015.