Before the much-awaited games begin, we’ve rounded up facts about the SEA Games you should know:
The 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games are about to begin! From 30 November to 11 December, thousands of athletes of different sports from all over Southeast Asia will compete for medals and awards. Most importantly, these athletes will wave their respective flags and bring pride and honour to their home countries.
The multi-sport event takes place every two years. For its 30th edition, the SEA Games will be held in the Philippines. There will be a total of 56 sports and 530 events, making it the biggest SEA Games yet in terms of the number of sporting events.
1. SEAP Games to SEA Games
The SEA Games trace its roots to the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games or SEAP Games in 1959, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand. In 1977, the peninsular countries decided to include the rest of Southeast Asia, marking the beginning of the Southeast Asian Games.
Today, with a purpose of promoting cooperation and enhancing relations among the countries in Southeast Asia, the games are participated in by 11 countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.