The Island Games, also known as the NatWest International Island Games due to the bank’s sponsorship, are an international multi-sports competition that are held every two years and that are organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). The list of participants include island communities from different points of the world, but they mostly have overseas in Europe. The event was founded by the Isle of Mann and it features over 20 islands including Guernsey, Jersey, The Faeroe Islands and Isle of Wight. While Gibraltar is a peninsula, rather than an island, it is also part of the event and it has hosted it twice. The 8th version of the games took place there and in 2021, Guernsey will be the host. There are 14 sports in the competition and over 2000 athletes participate in it.
While it would be great to be able to enjoy the game from anywhere, in reality there are geographical blocks that will come between you and the stream channels and services that offer the chance to watch this competition that features a wide range of sports. Although not all the sports could be included in the 2019 edition of the games hosted in Gibraltar (for instance volleyball, archery, cycling and football were missing from the list), there are many other options to enjoy, and even new disciplines were added to make up for the lack of popular options. If you are a fan of Basketball, Judo, Gymnastics, Beach volleyball, badminton, squash, triathlon, swimming or tennis, you can be sure to have a lot of fun watching the NatWest Island Games. Other categories included are athletics, table tennis, tenpin bowling, sailing and shooting.
As we mentioned, the NatWest Island Games feature over 2000 participants from more than 20 islands, 24 to be exact. These islands are members of the International Island Games Association (IIGA). The islands are located in different regions of the world. Here is the full list: Aland Islands, Alderney, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Froya, Gibraltar, Gotland, Greenland, Guernsey, Hitra, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight,Jersey, Menorca, Orkney, Rhodes, Saaremaa, Sark, Shetland Islands, St. Helena, Western Isles and Ynos Mon. For the Gibraltar edition of the games, taking place in 2019, the competitions will be held in different venues around the island. For instance, the badminton and squash competitions are held at the Europa Sports Complex, Athletics will be hosted by the Lathbury Sports Complex, Beach Volleyball matches will be played at Camp Bay, Sailing will take place at the Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club and Judo at Devils Tower Camp Gym.
Watching the 2019 NatWest Island Games from anywhere
While there is international coverage of the Island Games, since this event is not as popular as others, the options may be limited. In some cases, you will come across geographical restrictions that don’t allow you to watch the competitions in your locations. The solution is to use a VPN service, a technology that lets you get around the blocks effectively so that you can watch the Island Games in the comfort of your home, or when you are on the go. You just need to select the streaming service or channel that offers the chance to watch the games and then you can simply connect to a VPN server that is located in the region where that streaming service is available. We will go through a list of VPN services that we recommend so that you can watch the Island Games without worrying about geo-blocks, but first, lets take a look at the general steps that you can follow to bypass the restrictions:
Although you can find other options, we recommend the free coverage from GBC TV (Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation). The steps that you can follow in order to be able to watch the games, are as follows:
- Select a VPN service from our list of recommended options
- Download and install the software on your device. Most services have apps for all popular platforms.
- Connect to a VPN service in the location of your choice. In this case, to be able to watch the Island Games, you can connect to a server in the United Kingdom.
- Access GBC TV online and watch the competitions from any location.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN takes the lead in this list thanks to its high speeds and overall excellent service. ExpressVPN gives you the possibility of connecting to servers in over 90 countries, including the United Kingdom and other locations where you can find coverage for the Island Games. ExpressVPN offers high security as well, through its strong encryption standards. There are no logs of your activities.
NordVPN
NordVPN is a popular solution for people who want to keep their data private and secure. This Panama-based provider doesn’t keep any logs at all. Apart from the fact that it is a zero logs solution, another reason why NordVPN is preferred by privacy conscious users is that it uses military-grade encryption and it even supports advanced features like Tor over VPN and double VPN. You can connect to over 5000 servers in more than 60 countries, including places where you can access broadcasts of the Island Games.
Surfshark
This may be still considered as a new solution, when compared to other names in the market, but Surfshark has already gathered a lot of recognition in the industry. This is thanks to the fast speeds that it offers, the good selection of servers, the high security used to protect your data and other interesting features. For example, Surfshark lets you connect as many devices as you want at the same time. Surfshark doesn’t keep logs of your connection and it is another good choice to bypass restrictions and enjoy the NatWest Island Games.
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access is affordable, reliable and secure. You can connect to more than 3000 servers in over 30 countries. Private Internet Access lets you bypass restrictions so that you can watch the Island Games and any other event that is currently blocked in your location. PIA also stands out thanks to good combination of reasonable prices and advanced features like Kill Switch and SOCKS5 proxy. It doesn’t keep any logs that could compromise your privacy.
