Organizers of China's 15th National Games unveiled the games' official slogan, emblem and mascots on Saturday to mark the one-year countdown to the start of the event, which will be held in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city cluster in south China in 2025.
It marks the first time that Hong Kong and Macao will co-host the nation's largest, highest-level sporting event in coordination with the neighboring mainland province of Guangdong since the first edition of the games was launched in 1959.
The slogan, which goes "Passionate National Games, Vibrant Greater Bay Area", embodies the energetic spirit of the National Games while highlighting the unique collaboration among the three neighboring regions. The emblem resembles the moment a firework burst, with three colors symbolizing the iconic flowers of each region: the reddish-orange bombax for Guangdong, the pink orchid for Hong Kong, and the green lotus for Macao. At the center, a blank area subtly shapes a leaping figure as if capturing an athlete's dynamic movement.
"It's the first time for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to co-host the National Games, so we used three concentric petals of the iconic flowers from the three regions to form the emblem, symbolizing we are of one heart and one mind," said Liu Pingyun, chief designer of the event's emblem and mascot.
The mascots for the coming National Games and the Para Games are inspired by the Chinese white dolphin, a nationally protected wildlife species. The white mascot is named Xiyangyang, while the pink one is named Lerongrong, both symbolizing joy, harmony and unity.
"We hope to make the mascots more popular among the public through a simple and international design, so we tried our best toward a modern style. As we can see today, they are cute and lovely," Liu said.
The 15th National Games, the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games will open on November 9 and December 8, 2025 respectively.
The National Games will be held from November 9 to 21, 2025, featuring 34 competitive sports and 23 mass sports activities. Guangdong will host most of the events, while Macao will be home to four events, including table tennis and women's 3x3 basketball, and Hong Kong will host eight, including golf, fencing and beach volleyball.
China's Greater Bay Area marks one-year countdown to National Games
