The first-ever Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Half Marathon could be penciled in as another example of a wasted opportunity for regional cooperation.
Strangely, the inaugural Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Half Marathon confirmed for this November – although taking place on the bridge that connects Macau, Hong Kong, and Zhuhai – will only take place in the Hong Kong portion of the bridge.
After checking their IDs, runners will be taken beyond the Hong Kong Port border checkpoint, where the race starts and finishes.
After around 10.5 km – when runners reach the end of Hong Kong Link Road, which connects to the bridge’s central section – they will turn around for the home stretch.
After questions by TDM Radio, the Macau Sports Bureau confirmed that it would not organize any marathon linked with this new race, leaving local runners scratching their heads over this marathon
After listening to the Macau government repeatedly describe efforts to bring international high-level sport events to the SAR, it is strange that such an easy put/in goal could be missed like this.
The event was organised by the Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates, the sports governing body for the sport of athletics in Hong Kong.
We don’t know if the HAAA reached out to Macau sports authorities or vice versa to discuss any possible cooperation, but we can guess that even if they did, the tasks of organising a marathon crossing multiple jurisdictions would probably feel like a daunting task.
So a good opportunity to symbolically represent a connection within the mainland, Macau, and Hong Kong sides was spurned.
Which brings out the question, if it is so hard to organize a cross-border marathon within the Greater Bay Area, how can one expect more complicated matters can be fixed between the governments within the region?
[MNA contributing editor]
