VIETNAM will hold the Hanoi 31st Southeast Asian Games in mid-May next year, according to Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
Tolentino made the confirmation after yesterday’s online SEA Games Federation meeting among the games’ 11 member countries.
The Vietnamese organizers, according to Tolentino, were amenable to any date for the opening ceremony in mid-May. The Cambodians, he said, took some convincing.
“Cambodia will host the 32nd edition in 2023 and they want to have at least a year’s window for them to prepare,” Tolentino said. “Initially, they wanted the opening ceremony to be on May 5 or earlier.”
Cambodia will host its first SEA Games and has set its opening ceremony on May 5, 2023.
“As the debate went on, I suggested for a May 12 opening ceremony, a Monday, stressing ‘what difference can one week make?” he said. “And they [Cambodians] agreed.”
The Hanoi SEA Games were originally scheduled from November 21 to December 2 this year, but Vietnam’s government postponed them because of the pandemic.
“The Vietnamese organizers will confirm the specific dates soon,” Tolentino said.
There will be 40 sports and 520 events in Hanoi. There were 54 sports with 530 events in the 30th SEA Games that the Philippines hosted and dominated in 2019.
The Hanoi SEA Games opening ceremony comes three days after the general elections and Tolentino said the Philippine delegation will fly to Vietnam in batches depending upon the schedule of events.
