Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka used his address at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Coca-Cola Games on Saturday to praise the competition as a vital platform for nation-building, urging the thousands of student athletes who took part to carry the event’s core values into Fiji’s wider society.
Speaking as chief guest at Suva’s HFC Bank Stadium, Rabuka said the three-day meet, which began on Thursday, showcased “the values that define us as a people, define us as a nation: discipline, unity, resilience, respect and excellence.” He told the gathered athletes and officials that their commitment, sacrifice and determination were “the very best of Fiji’s future,” and highlighted the Games’ role in strengthening collective identity through its broad media reach across newspapers, television and social media.
“The Coca-Cola Games represents one of the most enduring forms of nation building,” Rabuka said, noting that the event’s widespread coverage helps affirm belief in Fiji’s future by celebrating young people who push themselves and represent their schools. His remarks framed the annual athletics meet not simply as a sporting contest but as an arena where civic values are formed and displayed.
As a former scholar and head boy of Queen Victoria School (QVS), Rabuka handed the boys division trophy to his alma mater — a moment made especially poignant by QVS breaking a 33‑year drought to top the boys standings. QVS finished the meet with 10 gold, 11 silver and seven bronze medals, a haul that ended decades without an overall win and drew applause from the stadium crowd and visiting dignitaries.
The Prime Minister’s appearance and the ceremonial trophy presentation capped three intense days of competition that once again drew significant attention across platforms, organisers said. While specific event results beyond the boys division winner were not detailed in the closing remarks, Rabuka’s address repeatedly returned to the theme that school sport is a formative experience that instils traits useful beyond the track and field.
Organisers and spectators have in recent years leaned into the Games’ status as Fiji’s premier secondary‑schools athletics carnival, using it to spotlight emerging talent and promote wider participation in sport. This year’s extensive coverage, Rabuka argued, amplifies those developmental benefits, bringing athletes’ stories to families and communities nationwide and reinforcing the message that investing in youth yields broader social returns.
By celebrating QVS’s return to the top and reiterating the Games’ broader civic purpose, Rabuka positioned the 2024 Coca‑Cola Games as more than a competition — a rehearsal of national values played out on athletic fields and carried forward by students into their schools and communities.