page_title: Macau
section_title: Sports
hierarchical_section_title: Macau / Culture / Sports
caption_attribution_description: English: 2008 Macau F3 Grand Prix in progress. #9 Mika Maki (Signature Plus) and #5 Brendon Hartley (Carlin Motorsport).
context_page_description: Macau, also spelled Macao, and officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is a city in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. It is a special administrative region of China and maintains separate governing and economic systems from those of mainland China. With a population of 649,335 and an area of 32.9 km², it is the most densely populated region in the world.
  Macau was a former colony of the Portuguese Empire, after Ming China leased the territory as a trading post in 1557. Portugal paid an annual rent and administered the territory under Chinese sovereignty until 1887 when it gained perpetual colonial rights in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking. The colony remained under Portuguese rule until 1999, when it was transferred to China.
  Originally a sparsely populated collection of coastal islands, the territory has become a major resort city and the top destination for gambling tourism. Its gambling industry is seven times larger than that of Las Vegas. Although the city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, it has severe income inequality.
context_section_description: Despite its small area, Macau is home to a variety of sports and recreational facilities that have hosted a number of major international sporting events, including the 2005 East Asian Games, the 2006 Lusophony Games, and the 2007 Asian Indoor Games.
  The territory regularly hosts the Macau Grand Prix, one of the most significant annual motorsport competitions that uses city streets as the racetrack. It is the only street circuit that hosts Formula Three, touring car, and motorcycle races in the same event. The Guia Circuit, with narrow corner clearance and a winding path, is considered an extremely challenging course and a serious milestone for prospective Formula One racers.
  Macau represents itself separately from mainland China with its own sports teams in international competitions. The territory maintains its own National Olympic Committee, but does not compete in the Olympic Games. Current International Olympic Committee rules specify that new NOCs can only be admitted if they represent sovereign states (Hong Kong has participated in the Olympics since before the regulation change in 1996).
caption: Formula Three racers in the 2008 Macau Grand Prix
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