Funafuti - Fongafale

Fongafale

The largest island is Fongafale. The island houses four villages and community meeting places. Tausoalima Falekaupule is the traditional meeting house on Funafuti – Tausoalima means “hand of friendship” and Falekaupule means traditional island meeting hall. There is the (Vaiaku Langi Hotel), and other guesthouses as well as homes, constructed both in the traditional manner, out of palm fronds, and more recently out of cement blocks. The most prominent building on Funafuti atoll is the Fetu Ao Lima of the Church of Tuvalu. Other sites of interest are the remains of Japanese aircraft that crashed on Funafuti during World War II. The airfield was constructed during World War II and is now the Funafuti International Airport, which serves both as the airstrip for the flights from Fiji as well as providing a place for sporting and other recreational activities.

A major sporting event is the "Independence Day Sports Festival" held annually at Fongafale on 1 October. The most important sports event within the country is arguably the Tuvalu Games, which are held yearly since 2008 with teams coming to Funafuti from the outer islands to compete in the games. Football in Tuvalu is played at club and national team level. The Tuvalu national football team trains at the Tuvalu Sports Ground on Funafuti and competes in the Pacific Games and South Pacific Games.

The Parliament of Tuvalu or Palamene o Tuvalu is located on Fongafale together with the offices of the government departments and the government agencies including the Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau. The capital of Tuvalu is sometimes given as Fongafale or Vaiaku, but the entire atoll of Funafuti is officially the capital. The Princess Margaret Hospital is the only hospital in Tuvalu. As Funafuti is an atoll, cargo ships can enter the lagoon and dock at the port facilities on Fongafale.