The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games, are a biennial multi-sport event held in Asia. Participating countries include Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The Southeast Asian Games Federation is supervised by the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia. The next scheduled SEAGF meeting is slated for July 8 in Hanoi. In addition to the organizing committee, the SEAGF consists of 25 national Olympic committees.
The first SEA Games were held in 1959, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Games were postponed. A representative from the SEAGF said that the date for the Games was suitable to ensure the safety of athletes and spectators. The SEAGF suggested a May or April 2022 date for the event. The event will be preceded by the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Thailand in March and the Winter Olympic Sports China in February, which will be held in February.
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When will event occur?
The SEA Games Organizing Committee has confirmed that it will hold the events in May, 2022. Previously, the Games had been set for July, but due to COVID-19 outbreak, the games were pushed back until 2021. The SEA Games Organizing Committee expects 70 to 80 percent of the athletes will have been vaccinated against COVID-19 before the Games start. The Vietnam Government has been asked to confirm these dates by the end of October.
Budget for the event
The Philippine Olympic Committee has allocated $69 million to host the SEA Games in 2022. This will allow the country to host the event for the second time. The games will feature 40 sports and the SEA Games will include both Olympic and non-Olympic sports. The country was the first to hold a multisport event in 2003. It is expected to have approximately 20,000 participants. There is no shortage of support for the SEA Games, as the country has provided more than $670 million for its preparations.
Who is the host?
Vietnam is expected to host the 31st SEA Games from May 12 to 23. However, the Philippines will be busy in the months leading up to the Games, competing in the Commonwealth Games in England and the Winter Olympic Games in China. A lack of funding has stalled the process of preparing for the event, meaning most athletes, officials, and coaches will be unable to vote. The host country has been urged to delay the Games until April or May 2022 to ensure the safety of the athletes.
The country’s government is trying to recover from a crippling pandemic that forced the cancellation of the SEA Games in July. In addition to being hampered by the pandemic, athletes have been unable to train as a result. With the SEA Games postponed until 2023, Cambodia will have enough time to prepare for the 31st edition. While the country’s athletes will be able to participate, there are concerns about health.
Reasons behind the delay
The Games had originally been set for November 21 to December 2 this year, but were postponed in July after the deadly virus outbreak in the host city. The SEA Games organisers were forced to change the dates for the SEA Games to avoid the outbreak. In October, the SEAGF’s office voted to postpone the event to November and December. It is now likely that the Vietnam Government will hold the event until May 2022. The SEA Games were initially scheduled for November and December this year. But the outbreak halted the competition. It forced the Games to be postponed until 2022.
- The host country, Vietnam, has also agreed to postpone the games due to increasing Ebola cases in the country. Meanwhile, the city has been working to prepare for the SEA Games with a budget of S$93.7 million and US$69 million. As far as the SEA Games are concerned, the Vietnamese people are more worried about returning to normal after the lockdown. In fact, the country is still preparing for the SEA Games 2022 and has decided to delay the events until later in the year.
- After the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus, Vietnam will likely host the 31st SEA Games in November. The SEA Games federation is unsure of which country will host the tournament. After an online meeting, the SEA Games Federation has decided to postpone the SEA Game to next year. The region is likely to host the SEA Games in November 2022 – a month later than originally planned.
Meanwhile, the host nation had to work with the South East Asian Games Federation to finalize its plans. It is unclear which country will host the next SEA Games, but it is expected to be in Vietnam in 2022. The game was first held in 2003, but the country has not yet confirmed its hosting.
