It's 365 days until the 15th National Games, and Hong Kong kicked off a countdown ceremony to celebrate, on Saturday.

Hong Kong will co-host the Games for the first time next year – from November 9 to 21 – along with Guangdong and Macau. It will also be the first time the countrywide competition will have multiple host regions.

Eight of the 34 competitive events will take place in the HKSAR, including fencing, track cycling, rugby sevens, golf, triathlon, beach volleyball, men's handball, and men's under-22 basketball.

Speaking at the countdown ceremony at government headquarters, Chief Executive John Lee said that the government is working hard to prepare for the Games and will carry out several trial runs, starting this month.

He's hopeful that the multi-host cities approach can boost cooperation within the Greater Bay Area.

"The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay development plays a key strategic role in the country’s new development framework. By hosting the Games together, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau are deepening their collaboration in areas like culture, sports, economy, and society, promoting high-quality development across the Greater Bay Area. It’s particularly meaningful for the three places to work together towards building a top-notch Bay Area in the world," he said.

In addition to the National Games, Hong Kong will also host four competitive events for the National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the National Special Olympic Games in December next year.

Lee noted the government will use various channels to educate people about the events and build excitement, including banners, exhibitions, as well as activities in communities and schools.

He added that the authorities plan to open up more volunteer positions for the Games, saying so far 30,000 people from Hong Kong have signed up, far beyond the original target of 10,000.

Next year's National Games will mark Hong Kong's eighth time participating in the countrywide competition, where the SAR has already won 47 medals, including 11 gold.

On Saturday evening, a countdown ceremony was also held at the Haixinsha Asian Games Park in Guangzhou, where Lee and Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng gave video speeches.

The mayor of Guangzhou, Sun Zhiyang, said the city will treat the one-year countdown mark as a fresh starting point and promised to stick to a green, shared, open, and connected approach to organising the Games, while making sure the event is safe, simple and still amazing.

The governor of Guangdong, Wang Weizhong, said the one-year mark shows that preparations for the Games are in the final stages and that everything is going smoothly.

"We will keep our promises and give our best in preparations, including building quality venues and essential facilities, coordinating, running trial runs, and providing excellent services, security, and promotion, as well as improving city infrastructure," he said.

The director of the State General Administration of Sports Gao Zhidan for his part said organising work are now at a critical stage and urged Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau to step up their coordination and teamwork.