
Nearly 2,200 athletes from 24 different countries will compete in 14 different sports across 25 venues over the space of one week this July, with over 1,600 medals up for grabs. The event kicks off on Saturday 8 July when the Town seafront will host the opening ceremony, the sports starting the following day.
Games director Julia Bowditch said preparations had been going to plan and the focus has now turned to logistics.
‘It’s been non-stop for the last couple of months,’ she said.
🇬🇬 “It’s just making sure that we deliver the event we promised”
— Guernsey Press Sport (@GsyPressSport) March 30, 2023
As the countdown to @Guernsey_2023 reaches 100 days to go, games director Julia Bowditch says her team are determined to get it right for the athletes and the island 💪
Read more: https://t.co/KONghQ2Qd4 pic.twitter.com/JcodeXGule
'We’re on track but it’s one of those things where in the next three months we’ve got a lot of things to get right.
‘Things like getting all the entrants in from the member islands. It’s the level of detail we have to go to, to make sure we have the right bus to pick up the right team, getting luggage labels out to the member islands, making sure when they arrive it's as smooth as possible.’
A recent concern for the Games’ team was accommodation for officials, which had led to sports clubs being asked if they could offer a bed and breakfast service.
Ms Bowditch said that this is currently being taken care of.
‘Accommodation for officials is all being done now,’ she said.
‘We’ve got over 100 international technical officials so we’re slotting them between all the hotels across the island, they’re all being booked in and they’ve got all their flights.’
🇬🇬 The final countdown is on to @Guernsey_2023! 🙌
— Guernsey Press Sport (@GsyPressSport) March 30, 2023
With 100 days to go now, organisers have published the full sports programme for the Games with 522 gold medals up for grabs across 205 events 🥇
Here's the schedule for the week 👇 pic.twitter.com/eKnPZx1RQP
Another milestone in the build-up is the release of the finalised schedule which is now available on the Guernsey 2023 website and also shows when each medal ceremony will take place.
There are 205 events taking place over the week, with 56 medal ceremonies.
Guernsey Island Games Association chairman Brian Allen expects to see crowded venues throughout the sports.
‘The Guernsey person is a fantastic enthusiast for sport for the island. I don’t think we have to do a lot apart from lay on all these competitions free of charge for them all to come and see and they’ll be there.’
More information on the Games, alongside a copy of the programme is available at guernsey2023.gg