Island Games 2025: What is it and who takes part?

The countdown to this year's Island Games is on.

The sporting competition takes place every other year, and sees 24 island groups from around the world competing for medals across 12 different sports.

2025 sees the Island Games hosted by Orkney.

Thousands of visitors, along with around 2,000 competitors and volunteers, are expected to attend the week-long event which begins on Saturday 12 July.

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about this year's games.

What are the Island Games and how did they begin?

Guernsey in the Channel Islands hosted the most recent edition of the Island Games in 2023

The games first began in 1985 during the Isle of Man's Year of Sport.

The idea was to bring together athletes from small islands across the world to take part in a new sporting festival — the 'Inter-Island Games'.

The first saw 700 sportsmen and women from 15 islands travel to the Isle of Man to take part.

It included the Faroe Islands and Scandinavia, the British Isles, islands in the Mediterranean, and from as far away as St Helena in the South Atlantic— a 5,000-mile trip.

After events in eight different sports the festival was regarded as a success and it has continued to take place every other year.

Over the years, the Games have been hosted by the Faroe Islands, Áland, the Isle of Wight, Gibraltar, Jersey and Guernsey - who hosted the most recent Games in 2023.

Many more islands have expressed their desire to join, and representatives of a wide variety of sports have also been working hard to try and persuade organisers to include them in the competition.

When and where are this year's Island Games?

The 2025 Games will officially be opened in Kirkwall, the largest town in Orkney

This year's Island Games are taking place in Orkney.

The Games are returning to Scotland for the first time since 2005, when the event was hosted by Shetland.

It will be officially be opened on Saturday 12 July by the Princess Anne in Kirkwall, the largest town in Orkney.

After the opening ceremony there will be a parade of athletes through the town.

There will be events across the week before the closing ceremony on Friday 18 July.

The twelve sports will take place in a number of different locations across the archipelago, including at some of Orkney's schools - who will play host to the football competition as well as the gymnastics contest.

Which sports will feature in the 2025 Island Games?

Athletes compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. This year's medals feature Orkney's famous standing stones

The Island Games holds competitions in a wide range of sports and is open to competitors from the age of 13.

1662 competitors are expected to take part in twelve sports over Orkney.

This year the sports are: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Bowls, Cycling, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Sailing, Squash, Swimming and Triathlon.

Is there a Island Games mascot?

Meet Ola the Orca - the official mascot for this year's Island Games

Ola the Orca is the official mascot for the 2025 Island Games.

Ola was created by 12-year-old Orkney resident Sarah, who won a competition entered by 880 local children and young people.

Which islands are taking part in the 2025 Island Games?

Competitors from around the world - including the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean - take part in the Games.

24 member islands from around the world belong to the International Island Games Association:

Aland

Alderney

Bermuda

Cayman Islands

Falkland Islands

Faroe Islands

Froya

Gibraltar

Gotland

Gozo

Greenland

Guernsey

Hitra

Isle of Man

Isle of Wight

Jersey

Menorca

Orkney

Saaremaa

Sark

Shetland Islands

St Helena

Western Isles

Ynys Môn (Anglesey)

Do the games benefit people living on the islands?

More than 2,000 athletes attended the last Island Games in Guernsey in 2023

As support and recognition for the event has grown, it has become important to the islands' sporting communities.

The possibility of being chosen to represent their home island in the Games can be a motivation for young athletes.

Some Island Games medallists have also gone onto achieve success in much bigger international competitions, like the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.

Which famous people have competed at the Island Games?

Cycling legend Mark Cavendish represented the Isle of Man at the Games and went onto become the most successful sprinter in cycling history.

Last year, Cavendish claimed his 35th individual stage victory at the Tour de France, the biggest cycling event in the world, putting him first on the all-time leaders list.

Kelly Sotherton also competed for the Isle of Wight in both the heptathlon and 400m in the Island Games, before going on to win bronze at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.

The islands' governments have also said the Games have had an impact when it comes to promoting a healthy lifestyle and strengthening their islands' cultural identity.

Where will the next Island Games in 2027 take place?

The Faroe Islands will host the next Island Games in the summer of 2027.

A self-governing archipelago which forms part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Faroe Islands are located north of Scotland, between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean.