GBA’s Olympics hopes get major boost after Thomas Bach praises ‘world-class facilities’

The Greater Bay Area’s hopes of one day hosting an Olympics were given a major boost by former IOC president Thomas Bach on Wednesday, after he told Hong Kong and the region to “go for it”.

Bach, who was president of the International Olympic Committee for 12 years until he was replaced by Kirsty Coventry in June, hailed the GBA for its world-class sporting facilities and sports-loving public on a visit to Hong Kong.

And officials were left to wonder if the National Games were “a dry run” after the 71-year-old said the region had “all the ingredients it needs” to stage a global version, adding it “could be a very important candidate for future Olympic Games”.

With the 2028 Olympics to be held in Los Angeles, and Brisbane playing host four years later, the next available slot to stage a Games is 2036. A Hong Kong working group had already raised the possibility of the city submitting a bid alongside its neighbours in Macau and Guangdong.

“If you look at the scope of the National Games, they are bigger than the Olympic Games,” Bach said in an interview with local media at Kai Tak Stadium, the “very exciting” venue where he watched the first day of the rugby sevens tournament.

“You have many world-class sports facilities, you have a sports-loving public, you have all the ingredients it needs, so one day I think it would be very good to be a candidate for the Olympic Games,” Bach added.