Hong Kong’s international Rugby Tens tournament in April next year — a curtain raiser to the famous Hong Kong Sevens — has been canceled, the latest sporting event to fall victim to seething political unrest.
Organizers for the 10-a-side jamboree, part of a week-long rugby festival culminating in the Hong Kong Sevens from April 3 to 5, had been struggling to attract teams after six months of protests rocking the financial hub.
“Owing to the ongoing situation in Hong Kong, the tournament has, for the first time, had difficulty in attracting and securing firm commitments from enough overseas teams of sufficient quality,” host Hong Kong Football Club said in a statement late on Wednesday. “We have made the decision not to host what would have been a diminished event in 2020.”
The tournament has been held on the Wednesday and Thursday before the Hong Kong Sevens every year since 1986, and features teams packed with past and future stars of the game.
Organizers said that they were determined for the showpiece Sevens, part of World Rugby’s global series, to go ahead.
Hong Kong has been upended by six months of massive pro-democracy protests that have seen increasingly violent clashes between hardcore demonstrators and police, as well as regular transport disruptions.
A string of high-profile sports and entertainment events have been canceled or postponed as a result, including pop concerts, stand-up comedy shows and award-winning musicals.
The WTA’s Hong Kong Open, Formula E’s Hong Kong ePrix and the Hong Kong Squash Open are among the sporting events to have been canceled.
The flagship Hong Kong Open golf tournament, won by world stars such as Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose in the past several years, was last month postponed and rescheduled for next month.
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