THE Palarong Pambansa 2024 is scheduled to take place from July 6 to 17, 2024.
The announcement was made through the official Facebook page of the event, the Palarong Pambansa 2024-Cebu City, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024.
In the schedule of activities, delegates are expected to arrive on July 6 and 7.
In a chat message on Saturday, Feb. 17, Cebu City Sports Commission chairman John Pages said there will be 17 participating regions.
Pages said the city is expecting 10,000 to 12,000 individuals, composed of athletes and coaches.
Pages said that upon arrival, delegates will be met at the airport and piers and escorted to their designated billeting quarters.
He said beds, tumblers and pillows will be provided for free to all the athletes.
He said the city will assist with transportation, although some regions, especially those from Negros and neighboring islands, will be traveling with their buses.
On July 7 and 8, solidarity meetings and refresher courses will take place.
Pages said the solidarity meetings will be attended by the representatives of the 17 regions, headed by their respective Department of Education (DepEd) regional directors.
He added that the refresher course will be for the officiating members (umpires, referees, etc) and will be conducted per sport.
July 9 will be the opening ceremony, which will be held at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).
The Palaro will have a one-day break on July 10, before the official start of the competition proper, which is from July 11 to 15. There will be 28 sports.
The closing ceremony, scheduled for July 16, is expected to be held at the South Road Properties, the same venue where Sinulog 2024 took place.
July 17 will be the departure of the athletic delegations.
Pages said the “Suroy-Suroy” is scheduled after the competition proper but no specific date yet, saying that they still need to coordinate with the Cebu City Tourism Office and Cebu Province Tourism Office regarding the matter.
“Our Cebu Palaro theme is Beyond Sports. We want them not only to compete at the highest level in sports but also to explore and experience Cebu. Many of these athletes, especially those in elementary school, are traveling for the first time, especially after the pandemic. We want them to bring home good memories of Cebu,” Pages said.
He said they will offer the athletes and visitors as many options as they can so they can choose their tourism-related activities.
He said they are also coordinating with many establishments to try to get discounts for the athletes.
Billeting quarters
Abellana National School, equipped with 140 classrooms, will accommodate officiating officials during the event.
City Central Elementary and High School, boasting 128 classrooms, will be designated for Central Visayas.
CCDA Gothong Elementary and High School, featuring 178 classrooms, will serve as the billeting quarters for Davao Region.
Don Sergio Osmeña Memorial National High School, with 89 classrooms, will be allocated for Bicol.
Don Vicente Rama Memorial Elem School, having 86 classrooms, will be designated for Ilocos Region.
Don Vicente Rama High School, with 117 classrooms, will host delegates from Eastern Visayas.
Pardo Elementary and High School, totaling 152 classrooms, will accommodate participants from Mimaropa.
Guadalupe Elementary School, with 158 classrooms, will be assigned to Western Visayas.
Labangon Elementary School, equipped with 95 classrooms, will be designated for Zamboanga.
Lahug Elementary and High School, featuring a total of 95 classrooms, will be allocated for the Caraga region.
Mabolo Elementary School, with 81 classrooms, will accommodate participants from the Cordillera
Administrative Region.
Mabolo National High School and Bagong Lipunan Elementary School, 94 classrooms combined will host delegates from Central Luzon.
Punta Princesa Elementary School, boasting 105 classrooms, will be designated for Northern Mindanao.
Ramon Duterte National Memorial High School, featuring 83 classrooms, will accommodate participants from Calabarzon.
Zapatera Elementary and Night High School, having a combined total of 114 classrooms, will serve delegates from the BARMM region.
San Nicolas Elementary School, equipped with 109 classrooms, will be allocated for Cagayan Valley.
Talamban Elementary and High School, featuring a total of 182 classrooms, will also host delegates from the BARMM region.
Tisa Elementary and High School, totaling 141 classrooms, will accommodate participants from Soccsksargen.
Tejero Elementary and High School have been reserved as billeting quarters.
Venue
Pages said there are 30 playing venues, nine outdoor venues and 19 indoor venues.
Pages said the average distance from the CCSC to all playing venues is 3. 35 kilometers. The farthest distance from CCSC is 10.5 kilometers, which is the Ateneo de Cebu.
He said 70 percent of indoor venues are air-conditioned while 30 percent have cooling systems.
He said playing venues can accommodate 200 to 15,000 spectators.
He added that there will be free Wi-Fi access in all playing venues and billeting quarters.
He said there will be live streaming for all the games through their official Facebook page and Youtube channel.