Hong Kong residents cheer and support athletes from the Hong Kong delegation participating in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at Olympian City, a mall in Kowloon, on Friday. LI ZHIHUA/CHINA NEWS SERVICE
Hong Kong people are rallying in full force to support local athletes to achieve stellar results at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, with various events being launched across the city to amplify sporting excitement.
The 2024 Paris Summer Games opened on Friday evening in the French capital. During the athletic extravaganza, which will close on Aug 11, 35 Hong Kong athletes will compete in 13 events, including the city's strengths such as fencing, swimming and cycling.
For around half of the Hong Kong athletes, this will mark their debut Olympic experience, with an athlete from the city qualifying for taekwondo for the first time in history.
Fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long and swimmer Siobhan Bernadette Haughey have been selected as the flag-bearers for the delegation at the opening ceremony, which took place along Paris' iconic River Seine.
In the previous Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Hong Kong athletes achieved a record-breaking performance, clinching a total of six medals, including one gold bagged by Cheung and two silver medals won by Haughey.
To boost morale among the competing athletes, an incentive program has increased cash bonuses for athletes who perform well at the 2024 Paris Olympics by 20 percent, enabling individual gold medalists to receive up to HK$6 million ($768,000) in prize money.
In addition to four local TV channels, Hong Kong audiences can also enjoy broadcasts of Olympic events in dozens of major shopping malls across the city. Many malls also launched various Olympic-themed promotions and interactive events for fans of the Summer Games.
Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific Airways recently collaborated with five Olympic athletes, including Haughey and Cheung, to showcase their images on the facade of prominent buildings across Hong Kong, from Admiralty to Quarry Bay on Hong Kong Island.
The company has also organized a special online activity, encouraging residents to show their support for local athletes through its mobile app.
Kowloon Motor Bus announced on Thursday that all members of the Hong Kong delegation competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics will receive a year of free rides on Kowloon Motor Bus and Long Win Bus routes.
Later, the transportation company will launch special buses decorated with the theme of supporting Hong Kong athletes. It will also invite athletes to name the buses.
Fong Hoi-tung, a 16-year-old student, said she hopes that every Hong Kong athlete can fully enjoy the competition and demonstrate excellent sportsmanship in Paris.
As a taekwondo enthusiast, Fong is very excited that Hong Kong has earned its historic Olympic qualification at the event. She expressed the hope that Hong Kong taekwondo competitor Lo Wai-fung can deliver an outstanding performance, thus attracting more attention to the sport among Hong Kong people.
Eric Wong, a 32-year-old architectural designer, said he hopes Hong Kong athletes can overcome difficulties and create new history at the Games.
Wong believes that the integration of traditional Olympic events with new events — such as break-dancing and skateboarding — is a good opportunity for the entire sports sector and different athletes. Meanwhile, he said the outfits and venue designs at the Paris Olympics are appealing to him.
Although Hong Kong didn't get the opportunity to participate in some of the newly added events, Wong believes that their inclusion will ignite interest among a significant number of Hong Kong youth.
Wu Xinyu in Hong Kong contributed to this story.
