Alas, the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) will once again return to Singapore after a 22-year long hiatus.
Awarded the bid by the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) in November 2011, the 28th SEA Games will be held from 5th – 16th June 2015.
Previously hosting the Games in 1973, 1983, and 1993, Singapore’s 4th time hosting the Games is especially significant to the republic as it celebrates its 50th year of independence in 2015. This presents Singapore with the perfect opportunity to reinforce regional peace and friendship with its regional neighbours.
The Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) believes the mid-year dates will provide ample opportunities for everyone to be part of Games, not only sports enthusiasts.
As seen above, 36 sports and 402 events will feature in the 28th SEA Games Singapore 2015. As such, the 28th SEA Games looks set to be a 12-day fiesta. And yes, Malaysia is part of the Games too!
The sports are aquatics (swimming, synchronised swimming, diving, waterpolo), archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, billiards and snooker, bowling, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, floorball, football, golf, gymnastics, hockey, judo, netball, petanque, rowing, rugby 7s, sailing, sepak takraw, shooting, silat, softball, squash, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, dragon boat, triathlon, volleyball, wakeboard and waterski, and wushu.
Phew, that’s a packed schedule!
To add on, here are 7 fun facts about the SEA Games:
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- Originally the brainchild of Luang Sukhum Nayapradit, then Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, the SEA Games was conceived as a means to help forge strong regional cooperation, understanding and unity within the South East Asian community.
- It was established to be a bi-annual multi-sports event to take place between the years when the Olympic Games and the Asian Games were held.
- The Games were organised by the South East Asia Peninsular (“SEAP”) Games Federation, as it was known then. The first President of the Federation was General Prabhas Charusatiara of Thailand. Luang Sukhum Nayapradit was elected Vice-President.
- Thailand, Burma (now Myanmar), Malaya (now Malaysia), Laos, South Vietnam and Cambodia the Federation’s first six founding members while Singapore was subsequently listed as one.
- Less than 18 months after the idea was mooted in May 1958, the inaugural SEAP Games was held in Bangkok from 12th – 17th December 1959. It comprised of the founding countries, 12 sports and 650 athletes and officials.
- In 1977, the Federation agreed to include three new nations – Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Philippines. In line with the new members, the Federation changed its name to the South East Asian Games Federation and the Games were then known as the SEA Games.
- In 2003, the Federation welcomed its newest and eleventh member, Timor-Leste. Currently, the Games are under regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia.
Here’s a sneak preview of what’s in store for the opening ceremony, via Today Online:
The 28th SEA Games’ opening ceremony will kick off on 5th June with a parade of the official Games torch, which will be carried out around Marina Bay in Singapore a day before. It will be led by Team Nila volunteers and other segments of the community before the lighting up of the 28th SEA Games cauldron at the opening ceremony at the Singapore National Stadium.
Hosted by popular TV personalities Gurmit Singh, Sharon Au, and Nikki Muller, the show will also involve Singaporean talents such as Daphne Khoo, Shigga Shay, and Siow Lee Chin. Along with over 5,000 performers and volunteers, they will present 5 acts that feature themes signifying different facets of the Games, such as the beauty of unfettered dreams and the limitless energy of youth
Wondering where you can catch the highlights or better yet, watch it live? Hit up the official YouTube channel! You can even stream it on the go, if you’d like :)
Alternatively, you could also tune in to Astro Arena, as it will start airing the pre-games events on Channel 801, and in HD on Channel 802. From 6th to 16th June, Astro Arena’s 180-strong production team will be in Singapore, working around-the-clock to deliver extensive live coverage for Malaysian sports fans.
Meanwhile, results for the Games thus far are available here. As far as we know, Malaysia has claimed their first gold of the 28th SEA Games after synchronised swimmers Katrina Ann Abdul Hadi-Zylane Lee lived up to expectations in the duet technical and free routine event finals.
For more timely updates, hit up SEA Games 2015’s official Twitter or Facebook page.
Sources: SEA Games 2015’s official website, Today Online, malaysiakini.
