Sport: Tahiti hopeful government will support Pacific Games bid

The Tahiti Olympic Committee remains optimistic it can convince the government to support a bid to host the 2019 Pacific Games.

The French territory is competing with Samoa and Guam for the right to stage the event in two years time, after Tonga pulled out because of a lack of government support.

Tahiti previously hosted the Games in Papeete in 1971 and 1995 but lost out to Tonga and Solomon Islands in the original bidding process for 2019 and 2023.

The President of the Tahiti Olympic Committee, Tauhiti Nena, said all of the national sporting federations are on board but they still need to persuade the government to come to the party.

"And at this time we wait for the meeting with the government to explain [to] them and after we wait [for] what they decide," he said.

"And I write a letter to the Council of Pacific Games, to Vidhya Lakhan and [Andrew] Minogue, to ask them if they can wait for one more month.

"That's why they said ok they could wait for the end of this month and after [that time] we know if the government will support [Tahiti's bid] or not."

Tauhiti Nena admitted no meeting had yet been agreed to by the government, while attempts to arrange a similar summit last month proved unsuccessful, but said President Edouard Fritch has just returned from overseas and he remained hopeful.

The French Polynesia government backed Tahiti's previous bids for the 2019 and 2023 Games but Tauhiti Nena said the short time-frame, following Tonga's withdrawal, has proved a sticking point in this latest effort.