Hong Kong, China, May 31, 2023: After discussions with the Government, the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) on Tuesday, May 30 issued the enhanced guidelines on the playing of the national anthem and raising of the regional flag for Hong Kong athletes and teams taking part in international sports events.
The Olympic Committee also held a briefing in hybrid format for member National Sports Associations (NSAs) to explain the relevant instructions to their office bearers and staff.
The Honorary Secretary General of SF&OC, Mr. Edgar J.T. Yang, briefed NSAs on the important points to note within the guidelines. Mr. Paul Cheng Ching Wan, Acting Commissioner for Sports of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, also attended the briefing session.
Over 230 NSA representatives attended the briefing session either in-person or online. SF&OC will continue to communicate closely with NSAs and review the guidelines on a timely basis.
The enhanced guidelines will come into effect on June 1, 2023, and included seven key points.
1 - To ensure that the correct version of the national anthem and regional flag are used at international sports events, SF&OC will provide a toolkit, including two hard copies (a computer disk or USB) containing the correct national anthem together with two regional flags for NSAs and a standard acknowledgement receipt. NSAs must collect the toolkit from SF&OC before setting off for an international sports event.
2 - Before departure, NSAs must provide the organiser with the official link of the national anthem and the correct specifications of the regional flag.
3 - The team leader assigned by the relevant NSA should be responsible for taking the toolkit to the event and giving one hard copy of the national anthem and regional flag to the event organiser.
4 – On site, if the organiser refuses to let the team leader listen to the national anthem or check the regional flag, the team leader must not allow team members to attend the sports events/awards presentation ceremonies until the checking is completed.
5 - NSAs should brief the team leader and members on the guidelines before their departure to international events.
6 - In case the wrong anthem is played or an incorrect flag is raised, the team leader should report to his/her NSA at the earliest opportunity for immediate action.
7 - SF&OC will provide a checklist on the actions required to be carried out by NSAs as specified in the guidelines.
The enhanced guidelines follow an incident involving the men’s ice hockey team at the Ice Hockey World Championship on February 28, 2023 when the wrong anthem was played. The SF&OC determined that the Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association had not followed the guidelines to ensure there was no mistake and issued a stern reprimand.