My summer holiday in 2025 was in Orkney, a beautiful and historic part of the UK in its own right. But the big draw for me was the chance to go and watch the Island Games, which I’ve had to explain a few times to people isn’t the same as the Highland games.The Island Games is a multi-sport event held every two years for non-sovereign islands (and also Gibraltar, which is of course a peninsula). They were first held in 1985 as a one-off on the Isle of Man. They have since been held every two years, and are hosted in different places every time, just like the Olympics. I first experienced the Games on the Isle of Wight in 2013, and loved the friendliness and atmosphere so much that I wanted to go again.
You can fill whole days switching between events in athletics, squash, bowls, swimming and much more, and seeing which teams you can spot out and about, proudly wearing their team colours in shops and restaurants.
24 islands took part in 2025. This included each of the biggest Channel Islands, Menorca, the Cayman Islands, the Falklands and various Baltic islands.
Opening parade Falklands and Faroes
Places like Iceland and Malta no longer take part because their populations are too big.
I’m a trivia nut, so, I’d like to share that Sark are the most successful Island Games team in history per capita, winning the equivalent of a medal for every 30 people.
Orkney was the smallest host ever, accommodating over 2,000 athletes and officials among its resident population of just over 20,000 people (leading to some of the football teams being accommodated in makeshift dormitories in school classrooms). All events were hosted on the largest Orkney island of Mainland and all were free to spectators (a glorious respite from the expensive and fiddly world of Premier League fan life).
I missed the opening ceremony hosted by Princess Anne and Lorraine Kelly, but I did see the athletes parading through the narrow streets of Kirkwall, past the gorgeous St Magnus Cathedral, and all the shopfronts decked out in flags and good luck messages. Every team brought some water from its island which was poured into a communal fountain; a unique and beautiful Island Games tradition.
One of the highlights of every Island Games is the football tournament. It is an important chance for non-FIFA territories to compete (FIFA-affiliated Bermuda entered an under-23s side) in knockout football, probably in front of many more fans that they are used to. Teams like Orkney and Shetland rarely get to play outside of the tournament at all, apart from contesting the Milne Cup against each other.
Many of the group games took place at local schools, while bigger games and the semis and finals took place at Kirkwall Grammar School which has two high quality pitches and enough space for spectators, plus food trucks and merch stalls. (Unfortunately it didn’t have shade from the unexpectedly fierce sun that shone all week. So much for having a suitcase full of anoraks and woolly jumpers.)
I watched some or all of eleven games across the men’s and women’s tournaments. The standard was similar to around step seven or eight in non-league, but without most of the cheating nonsense we see in the Premier League, and no VAR.
Froya v Hitra
Apart from a feisty Gozo v Shetland men’s game, most games were played in a good spirit. I enjoyed Frøya v Hitra, a derby contested between two Norwegian islands connected by a bridge; they each have a population of around 5,400 – equivalent to a decent Griffin Park league one attendance.
It can be a joy watching a football match as a neutral when you get to leave to one side the stories, hopes and dreams you pour into watching Brentford over the years. I was chuffed for the Shetland women’s team, who stood up to a battering from a very strong and fit Bermuda team to only lose 2-0. The hosts Orkney didn’t make much impact on the pitch, finishing fifth and tenth in the men’s and women’s respectively, but were roared on by hundreds of locals waving the flag (a yellow and blue Nordic cross on a red background, using colours from both the Norwegian and Scottish royal coats of arms, since you ask).
The women’s final was a tense affair between the Isle of Man and Bermuda. A 1-1 draw meant penalties and it was Bermuda who had just a bit more composure, winning 4-2.
Men’s final Bermuda v Ynys Môn
The men’s final, between Ynys Môn and Bermuda, was killed off by a couple of early goals for Bermuda, but it was a good battle, watched by possibly the biggest crowd of the week apart from some of the athletics nights.
Helen LIppell