HONG KONG: The world’s top dragon boat competition will drop Hong Kong next year in favor of Thailand due to the city’s strict coronavirus rules, organizers announced on Saturday (September 17).
Hong Kong is trying to restart its pandemic-hit sports scene, even as it continues to follow a loose version of China’s zero-COVID strategy that quells outbreaks with travel restrictions and quarantines.
The 2023 World Dragon Boat Racing Championships was the latest international sporting event to leave the Chinese city, according to the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association.
“Hong Kong’s current quarantine and isolation regulations for visitors are still stricter than those of other countries,” the group wrote on Facebook.
The event, scheduled for next August, will be held in Pattaya, Thailand instead, the International Dragon Boat Federation confirmed.
The news comes a day after the Hong Kong Marathon and Oxfam Trailwalker events separately announced their cancellations.
Marathon organizers said they failed to obtain government approval just two months before the race, leaving insufficient time for preparations.
Last year’s marathon took place in October after months of delay and had no overseas participants, while the 2020 event was canceled by the government with two weeks’ notice.
Oxfam Trailwalker organizers also said their event could not go ahead, despite offering to limit attendance to 1,600.
“The government believes that a large number of people are still involved in the event,” the organizers said on Facebook.