The Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races will start this weekend at Victoria Harbour.

The International Dragon Boat Races in Hong Kong 2023, jointly organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association, will be held over two days with a total of 17 races. Over 160 teams from 10 countries and regions, including first-timer Poland, as well as teams from Australia, Dubai, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, the Mainland, Macao and Hong Kong. About 4,000 of the best players will be competing for the championship in Victoria Harbour.

Mr Dane Cheng, HKTB Executive Director, said, “ ‘The International Dragon Boat Races’ is the HKTB’s first international sports event since travel resumed in Hong Kong. It is a great pleasure to have the best dragon boat teams from around the world to join us this year, and we are delighted to invite the teams from the nine cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), Macao and Hong Kong to compete in the ‘Greater Bay Area Championship’. 

It is also the first time that we introduce the ‘Hong Kong-Macao Trophy’ in collaboration with Macao. These races are going to promote the partnership and cooperation between the cities in the GBA driving multi-destination tourism in the Area. In the future, we hope to inject more GBA elements into our sports events to build the GBA tourism brand. For the first time, cash prizes will be available to winning teams in five major races to encourage teams from around the world to participate.” 

Mr Arnold Chung, Secretary General of the HKCDBA, said, “‘The Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races’ is the world’s most historical dragon boat competition, attracting strong teams from all over the world, and I believe the races in Victoria Harbour will be sensational. I would like to thank the various government departments and partners for their support. HKCDBA has long strived to make the sports of dragon boat popular, and will continue to pass on the heritage and culture of the Dragon Boat Festival and the festivities to the local public as well as visitors.”

This year, “Hong Kong-Macao Trophy” will be jointly held by the two cities for the first time. Six teams from the Mainland, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong and Macao will compete in the “Macao International Dragon Boat Races” and “the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races” on 22 and 24 June respectively, before competing for “the Hong Kong-Macao Trophy” in the Final on 25 June. The event will showcase the cooperation between the two places in promoting multi-destination tourism.