Torch relay for disability games to begin in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao simultaneously

The torch relay for the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games will commence simultaneously in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao starting Saturday. The games run from Dec 8 to 15.

This year marks the first time in history that the two games will be jointly held in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao.

Chen Xuejun, deputy director of the executive committee for the Guangdong division of both events, said the torch relay adopts a shared flame model combined with the 15th National Games to illustrate the theme of "integration of people with and without disabilities, unity in the Greater Bay Area".

"The torch relay will be run by 200 torchbearers, with 50 running in each city," he said at a Monday news conference in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

After the relay, representatives from the four cities will return the flame to Guangzhou, and at 5 pm, the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center will host a flame integration ceremony.

The opening ceremony for the two games will be held in Guangzhou on Dec 8.

According to Chen, each city's route showcases its distinctive characteristics while echoing the overarching theme. Guangzhou, with "Reform and Opening Up · Dynamic Guangzhou" as its main thread, unfolds along the One River, Two Banks area.

"It echoes the integrated practice of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in achieving 'hard connectivity, soft connectivity and heart connectivity'," he said.

The 15th National Games, which were also jointly organized in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao for the first time, came to an end after a closing ceremony in Shenzhen on Friday.