Next month, the Philippines will host the actual games or sports to be played under the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, or the 30th SEA Games. Specifically, this regional sporting event will happen from November 30 to December 11. As far as the country is concerned, this is the fourth time that the nation is playing host to this multisport activity. This year, the competitions will happen in different main venues: Metro Manila, Clark, Subic/Olongapo and Tagaytay.
The 11 members of the Southeast Asian Games Federation are joining the 2019 SEA Games: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam. A total of 56 sports are going to be played, which makes this year’s SEA Games the biggest in terms of the number of sports included.
The country is setting aside at least P7.5 billion for this event, with P6 billion coming from the government. The rest of the money comes from sponsorship agreements facilitated by the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc). The administration even built a huge, world-class sports complex in New Clark City, which houses the state-of-the-art Aquatics Center and Athletics Stadium, plus the Athletes’ Village where the athletes and other SEA Games personalities will be billeted.
One would wonder why the country, with its seemingly endless list of problems and other priorities, would spend this amount of money to host a regional sporting event. Hosting the 30th SEA Games is a task that was previously declined by the original would-be host Brunei because of lack of funding. Well, according to Phisgoc, the country is making this investment to establish the country’s reputation as a premier sports destination.
Last October 3, the Philippines received the SEA Games Flame from 2017 host Malaysia in a handover ceremony at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. The lantern carrying the flame will be brought to the Philippines to kickoff various torch run activities in Davao, Cebu and Clark.
The official torch for this year’s SEA Games symbolizes unity, sportsmanship, athletic superiority and artistic achievements. One of the Philippines’s esteemed sculptors, Daniel de la Cruz, designed the torch and the medals for the SEA Games. His torch design shows the national symbols, including the sampaguita, our national flower. It stands for purity, simplicity, humility and strength.
I am sure there are many Filipinos who are excited to watch some of the events and offer support to our very own athletes. Tickets for the different events are going to be available for sports fans across Southeast Asia. SM Tickets is the official ticketing outlet, which means that you can buy from their web site and from any of their actual ticket centers nationwide starting October 15. The opening ceremony, to be held at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, happens on November 30. Tickets to this event starts at P1,000.
As the main hub of the 2019 SEA Games, Clark is the venue for several sporting events. New Clark City in Clark, Pampanga, offers the newly built Athletics Stadium and Aquatics Center as the venue for the centerpiece sports athletics and swimming. However, Metro Manila will still be hosting most of the sporting events, including basketball, volleyball and weightlifting.
Reference: Business Mirror