Hualien to Host International Children's Games – First International Sporting Event After Strong Earthquake
Source: Central News Agency (CNA)
The Hualien County Government has secured the hosting rights for the 2026 International Children's Games (ICG) and officially signed the Host City Agreement with ICG. The Games are expected to bring more than 2,000 athletes from over 30 countries to Hualien in August 2026. This will be the first major international sporting event held in Hualien since the earthquake on April 3.
The ICG, with participating teams organized by cities, invites youth athletes aged 12 to 15 from around the world to compete and exchange experiences. The 58th edition of the Games will be held in Hualien next year. The signing ceremony between the ICG Committee and Hualien County Government took place today at the Hualien Leisure Sports Park, where the organizing Committee Office was also unveiled.
Hsu Hsiu-Ling, Head of the International and Cross-Strait Sports Division, Sports Administration, Ministry of Education, said in her speech that the ICG is an IOC-recognized event and a global gathering for young athletes. Taiwan previously hosted the Games in Taipei (2002) and New Taipei City (2016), and this will be the third time Taiwan has served as host.
Hsu also mentioned that the Sports Ministry will be officially established this September, aiming to strengthen Taiwan through sports and build a society with sports equality, making sports universal, industrialized, and internationalized. The ministry will fully support Hualien County Government in organizing the Games.
ICG President Igor Topole noted that the committee visited Hualien last year, just one week before it was hit by a strong earthquake. "Hualien showed great resilience and quickly applied to host the 2026 Games. We are confident that Hualien will deliver the event successfully," he said.
Hualien County Mayor Hsu Chen-Wei signed the agreement on behalf of the county and unveiled the Games' official visual identity, "Shining Hualien." She said that after last year’s earthquake, she sought opportunities for tourism and for the youth of Hualien. She thanked the Sports Administration for its support and said the county government will go all out to demonstrate its determination and capability to host an international sporting event.
The 2026 ICG will feature eight sports: athletics, swimming, tennis, 3x3 basketball, football, taekwondo, table tennis, and archery. The county government said that venue preparations are underway and that a professional international volunteer team will be trained to provide quality services.
