The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania.

Only six countries have attended every edition of the Pacific Games: Fiji, French Polynesia (Tahiti), New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

The idea was adopted and led to a meeting of nine Territories, held in Nouméa during March 1961, which awarded Fiji the honour of hosting the very first Games.

As a residual consequence of the European colonisation of the Pacific from the early part of the 18th Century onwards, many nations who participated in the first Games (of 1963) were under predominantly British or French territorial rule.

Understandably this generated a certain amount of confusion as both British and French flags and national anthems dominated proceedings and were occasionally used together for winning countries.

Throughout the Pacific, the Christian Sabbath remains very important (sporting events or similar activity are illegal in Tonga for example) and scheduling at such a time would be frowned upon.

The events themselves have also been affected by religious sensitivities, notably beach volleyball where the official uniform of bikinis for women has been forced to give way to more conservative attire.

In 1995, the year Papeete, Tahiti hosted the Games, many countries took the decision to boycott as a direct protest at French nuclear testing in the Pacific.

[1] The XII South Pacific Games held in Suva, Fiji saw for the first time the introduction of a full program of 32 sports.

[9] Potential debt positions notwithstanding, five nations (Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga and American Samoa) bid for the 2015 Pacific Games.

However the rising cost (purportedly in excess of $1 billion) and the logistical burden of putting on the games continue to threaten countries' abilities to host the event.

Membership of the Council includes internationally recognised National Multisport Organisations within countries and territories who are members of the Pacific Community.

In July 2014, the Oceania National Olympic Committees voted to allow Australia and New Zealand to take part in the 2015 Pacific Games.

They were allowed to send participants only in rugby sevens, sailing, taekwondo and weightlifting — sports where other Pacific countries had proved sufficiently competitive against them in the past.