The 2023 NatWest Island Games were officially launched on Saturday evening with the opening ceremony at St Peter Port in Guernsey.
More than 2,000 athletes descended onto the beach front in the island’s capital to be cheered on by an even larger number of spectators as the 19th edition of the biennial Games kicked into action.
Having last hosted the event 20 years ago in 2023, Guernsey are now the first nation to stage the Island Games for a third time, having also done so back in 1987.
Footballer Eleanor Gawne was the Isle of Man flagbearer for the opening ceremony as she led in the Manx team, while swimmer Lauren Dennett - the youngest member of the team - was the island’s water carrier and participated in the traditional water ceremony on stage.
After various speeches, including ones by International Island Games Association chairman Jorgen Pettersson and Dame Mary Perkins (who co-founded Specsavers), the Games were officially declared underway before the teams paraded back across the seafront amongst a festival atmosphere.
The competitive action gets underway on Sunday morning when Team Isle of Man will be in action in events such as triathlon, athletics, badminton, basketball, football, sailing, shooting, table tennis and tennis.