The Games take place every two years and are organised by the European Olympic Committees, with the first ever competition being held in the City of San Marino in 1985. Luxembourg has played host to the event on two occasions, in 1995 and 2013, with the Grand-Duchy also welcoming the Games in 2029.
The pre-requisites to qualify for the event are that the nation must be in Europe and its population has to be no greater than 1 million, with Cyprus being the only exception as their population grew past the limit after their first participation in 1985. At its inception in 1984 there were eight nations, but Montenegro was added to the list in 2009. Here are all the participating nations:
As of the 2023 Games of the Small States:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1. | Cyprus | 519 | 453 | 398 | 1,370 |
| 2. | Iceland | 509 | 393 | 423 | 1,325 |
| 3. | 411 | 420 | 398 | 1,229 | |
| 4. | Monaco | 147 | 169 | 252 | 568 |
| 5. | Malta | 111 | 174 | 231 | 516 |
| 6. | Liechtenstein | 75 | 80 | 105 | 260 |
| 7. | San Marino | 68 | 122 | 155 | 345 |
| 8. | Montenegro | 55 | 24 | 46 | 125 |
| 9. | Andorra | 52 | 100 | 139 | 291 |
When the competition first started, a mere seven sports were on display, with 222 athletes taking part; since then it has expanded exponentially with this year’s edition attracting over 1,000 athletes in 19 different sports. The sports that will represented are:
It’s set to be an entertaining week in the Pyrenees and we will guide you along the way!
