- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
Hong Kong Sevens looks to return under Olympic-style closed-loop
The famous Hong Kong Sevens could return in November for the first time in more than three years under a Beijing Olympics-style "closed-loop" system, organisers told AFP Wednesday.
The highlight of the World Rugby Sevens Series calendar is renowned for its raucous party atmosphere, but it has not been staged since April 2019 as Hong Kong stuck to a zero-Covid policy with strict rules on travel, quarantine and public gatherings.
Hong Kong Rugby Union CEO Robbie McRobbie said the Olympic-style plans had proved acceptable to World Rugby but still had to be given the "green light" by the city government after which a final decision would be made whether to go ahead.
"Significant challenges remain, not least the cost of implementing the Covid mitigation measures," said McRobbie in an email statement to AFP.
"But we will do all we can to get this on -- we know how important it is for our city to get going again."
The arrangements would see 16 men's teams and their support staff, as well as personnel running the stadium, hospitality and hotels, confined to a closed-loop system for seven days leading up to the November 4-6 tournament.
The women's tournament, usually played alongside the men's, will not take place in 2022.
McRobbie said affordability would be crucial in deciding whether the Hong Kong Sevens could go ahead, with the Covid-secure measures adding a whopping HK$50 million (US$6.4 million) to the bill for staging the tournament.
The event is one of city's biggest social events, normally seeing 40,000 sell-out crowds for all three days with fan zones, bars and restaurants across the city catering to thousands more.
Spectators would be outside of the closed loop under the HKRU plans, but the Hong Kong government at present still limits most gatherings in public to a maximum of four people.
The Beijing Winter Olympics in February saw nearly 3,000 athletes and more than 60,000 support staff, volunteers, journalists and others cocooned in a vast bubble where they were tested every day and had to wear a mask at all times.
McRobbie said the event's return would bring huge benefits to the travel, hospitality and events sectors which had "suffered greatly over the past three years" while the city has been largely cut off from the rest of the world because of the pandemic.
"My feeling is if we can afford it we should do it," he said.
Nogueira--PC