by Neville Choi – EM TV, Port Moresby
With so much focus on whether venues for the 2015 Port Moresby Pacific Games will be ready on time, not much has been said about the logistics that will go into the event.
The Games Organising Committee yesterday held a briefing with media and news managers to put into perspective the media coverage of the Games and the showcasing of Port Moresby and Papua New Guinea.
While the broadcasting of next year’s games will be the primary medium for viewers in and around PNG, the Pacific and the world will follow the event via up-to-the-minute score-sheets.
Results will also be accessible online and through the media daily.
Television broadcasting coverage in the lead-up to the start of the games will feature 10 live sites around the country to ensure there is involvement by everyone in the country and not just Port Moresby.
But games are more than just venues and athletes. The event is a massive logistical challenge.
Whilst there are 28 sports being played in the Games, there are other numbers to note.
The number of team officials currently stands at 500 while technical officials are at 1,000 and volunteers are expected to be at the 2,000 mark.
That number equals the number of performers in the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies.
While contractors have a ceiling of 3,000, the largest group is the athletes, whose numbers currently stand at 3,500.
Security, an important aspect in making the Games memorable, will see 1,900 police officers, 300 defence force soldiers and 300 correctional services personnel.
The Organising Committee also announced that ticket sales for the 2015 Pacific Games will soon go on sale. They also suggest that all Papua New Guineans plan to buy tickets because this will be an event not to be missed.
Also on the cards is a ‘Festival of the Pacific’ event and a relay that is expected to take the Games throughout the country.
“There is a strong emphasis on getting everyone in the country involved in the Games. We also want to get more of our cultural traditions involved through what is planned to be a Festival of the Pacific,” says Organising Committee Member, Clint Flood.
“We are also planning a relay that will be broadcast and that will travel through several main centres. We are already getting requests from governors of some provinces who are putting their hand up to have their provinces be part of the relay event.”
Mr Flood said that the Games will also be a way of combating the negative stereotype associated with PNG.
He says this is an event that will tell visitors from the region, Australia and New Zealand.
