2017 Southeast Asian Games

29th Southeast Asian Games
Host city Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Motto Rising Together
(Malay: Bangkit Bersama)
Nations participating 11
Events 405 in 38 sports
Opening ceremony 19 August 2017
Closing ceremony 31 August 2017
Main venue Bukit Jalil National Stadium
Website Official website
<  2015 2019  >

The 2017 Southeast Asian Games (Malay: Sukan Asia Tenggara 2017), officially known as the 29th Southeast Asian Games (Malay: Sukan Asia Tenggara ke-29) and commonly known as Kuala Lumpur 2017 is a regional multi-sport event that will take place at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 19 to 31 August 2017.[1] It will be the sixth time that Southeast Asian Games held in Malaysia, after 1965, 1971, 1977, 1989 and 2001 Games. By the time the country hosts the games in 2017, it will be 16 years after Malaysia last hosted the biennial event.[2] The Games closing ceremony will coincide with Malaysia’s 60th Independence Day.[1]

Organisation

Host city

A map of Malaysia.
Kuala Lumpur
Location of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

As per SEA Games traditions, hosting duties are rotated among the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) member countries. Each country is assigned a year to host but may choose to do so or not.[3]

In July 2012, the SEAGF meeting in Myanmar confirmed that Malaysia would host the regional biennial event in 2017, should there be no other country willing to bid for the host job.[2] Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary general Sieh Kok Chi, who attended the meeting, said that Myanmar would host the Games in 2013, followed by Singapore in 2015. Then it should be Brunei's turn but it wanted to host the 2019 Games instead of the 2017 edition. Malaysia is willing to be the host for the 2017 Games.

Development and preparation

The Malaysia SEA Games Organising Committee (MASOC) was formed in 2015 to oversee the staging of the event.

Venues

The Bukit Jalil National Stadium, the main venue for 2017 SEA Games.

The 2017 Southeast Asian Games will be organised across several states in Malaysia.[4][5] All the existing venues in Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex will be upgraded while a new velodrome will be built in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan to host track cycling events.[6] Initially, Sabah and Sarawak was considered a number of events contested.[4] However, the Chief Executive Officer of 2017 SEA Games, Zolkples Embong has decide not to involving the East Malaysian states citing "a higher cost" as a main reason for not involving.[7]

More than RM1.6 billion has been allocated by the host country to turn the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, and its surrounding areas into a Sports City.[8] The first phase of the work will get the Bukit Jalil National Stadium ready to host the 2017 Southeast Asia Games.[9]

Volunteers

The organisers estimated that about 20,000 volunteers are needed to successfully host the games. Volunteer recruitment began on 14 November 2015, the same date as the launch party of the games logo, theme and mascot.[10] In less than 48 hours, more than 20,000 have signed up as volunteers who will be shortlisted for a variety of duties, ranging from scorekeeping, crowd control, ticketing, promotions and many more.[11]

Countdown

During the closing ceremony of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, the SEAGF Flag was formally handed over to Malaysia from Singapore. This was followed by a song and dance section highlighting Malaysia as the next venue. On 14 November 2015, a launch party was held at the Suria KLCC to launch the logo, mascot and the volunteer recruitment programme.

On 19 August 2016, a series of festivities, dubbed the "Wau Factor" were held at the National Sports Council Centre in Setiawangsa, to mark the one year countdown to the games.[12]

Marketing

Logo and mascot

Rimau, the Malayan tiger, the official mascot.

"Rising Together" is the theme of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. It was chosen to signify Southeast Asia as a community and a region that has come a long way in making its mark on the global stage and to urge its people that it is time to come together to write the next chapter in collective journey of peace, progress, and prosperity. It also signifies that with Kuala Lumpur 2017 Southeast Asian Games being the first SEA Games after the formation of the ASEAN Community, sports will play a big role in bringing all the citizens of Southeast Asia together in celebrating Malaysians achievements and commitment towards sportsmanship, as well as uplifting and inspiring the entire region.[13] The logo of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games is an image of a Wau Bulan, a crescent-shaped kite traditionally popular in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.[13] The combination of stripes and colours were collated from the flags of all the Southeast Asian countries to create the Kuala Lumpur 2017 identity. It was selected after a nationwide logo competition which saw 174 entries submitted for consideration. The Wau is described as graceful, beautiful, powerful, rising high above and something that could uniquely represent the transcendent power of sports.[14]

The official mascot of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games is an anthropomorphic Malayan tiger named Rimau. It was unveiled on 14 November 2015, together with the games' logo and theme. The name is an abbreviation of the games' core values, namely: Respect, Integrity, Move, Attitude and Unity. He is described as a gracious, friendly, competitive and athletic athlete.[15]

Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

The games

Participating nations

All 11 members of Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) are expected to take part in the 2017 SEA Games. Below is a list of all the participating NOCs.

Sports

A total of 38 sports will be contested in this edition.[2] Five sports including two winter sports will be introduced to the Games – bridge, cricket, ice hockey, ice skating and Tarung Derajat. For the first time, two winter sports were accepted by the South East Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) Council into the SEA Games. Ice skating and ice hockey, together with cricket, were inducted into Category Two joining the other 35 sports which are featured in the Olympic Games and Asian Games. Tarung Derajat and Bridge join 16 other sports in Category Three.[6][16]

On 16 June 2015, Chief Executive Officer for the 2017 SEA Games, Zolkples Embong said the staging of Olympic sports hopes will be part of the legacy of the SEA Games in Malaysia. He said that while it has always been the norm for host nations to select sports they are geared towards in an attempt to increase their haul of gold medals, the practice is not in line with the goals, which is to groom athletes from the region to compete at the Asian and Olympic Games. He gives an example of 2011 Southeast Asian Games hosted by Indonesia which included many non-Olympic sports and the host played to their advantage by being the overall winners with 182 gold medals. However, Indonesia only won 47 gold medals in 2015 Southeast Asian Games. He added, in terms of the number and type of sports, Malaysia may not include non-Olympic sports like floorball and sailing’s optimist race in 2017.[17]

As of February 2016, the sports of Archery, BMX cycling, Wrestling, Triathlon, Judo, Muaythai, Canoeing, Bodybuilding and Fencing were removed from the preliminary shortlist of the sporting disciplines that will play in the 2017 SEA Games.[18] Also removed from the list are the women's events in boxing, billiards and snooker, sanda, and weightlifting and 8 events in Athletics. National Olympic Committees from the 11 participating countries will have until March 9 to appeal to reinclude the delisted sports in the shortlist.[19]

On 12 May 2016, a meeting between Olympic Council of Malaysia and Paralympic Council of Malaysia, chaired by sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin was held to propose the merger of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games and the 2017 ASEAN Para Games into a single games which if approved will integrate the para sports into the games' main programme.[20] The same topic was also discussed at the Asean Para Sports Federation Board of Governors meeting on 7 June 2016.[21] By 14 July, the proposal have been rejected by SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) Council, with 9 member countries have opposed the proposal while only two (Malaysia and Laos) agreed, citing the reason for the rejection was due to the tradition and culture that has long been maintained by SEAGF.[22]

38 sports with 405 events in all for the Games were included in the final list approved by the SEAGF on 14 July 2016.[23][24][25]

Broadcasting

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Meor Idris, Wan Noriza (14 November 2015). "2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games: New dates announced". Malay Mail Online. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Malaysia to host 2017 SEA Games". Bernama. The Star. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  3. S. Murillo, Michael Angelo (25 September 2015). "Ready for SEA Games 2019". Business World Weekender. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 Ruben Sario (7 September 2013). "Khairy proposes Sabah, Sarawak for SEA games". The Star. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  5. "South East Asian NOCs in Singapore for the 28th SEA Games" (Press release). Singapore: Singapore National Olympic Council. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 "KL to be main venue for 2017 SEA Games". Free Malaysia Today. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  7. "Sabah, Sarawak may not host 2017 SEA Games". The Malaysian Insider. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  8. Shah, Mohd Farhan (3 June 2015). "RM1bil allocated to build Sports City". The Star Online. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  9. "MRCB wins bid to regenerate Bukit Jalil sports complex". New Straits Times Online. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  10. "20,000 volunteers needed for 2017 SEA Games". The Star Online. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  11. "More than 20,000 have signed up as volunteers in less than 48 hours". Official Website. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  12. "Wau Factor Celebrates A Year To Go To Sea Games 2017". Official website.
  13. 1 2 "Launching of the Logo, Mascot, Theme and Volunteer Programme of the Kuala Lumpur 29th SEA Games 2017". Official Website. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  14. "Rising together, Rimau to drive KL Sea Games". New Straits Times Online. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  15. "About - Official Website". Official Website. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  16. Ian De Cotta (5 June 2015). "A cool addition to the SEA Games". Today Online. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  17. Ian De Cotta (16 June 2015). "SEA Games: 2017 hosts Malaysia look to emulate Singapore in more ways than one". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  18. "Philippines dealt blow as triathlon excluded from 2017 SEA Games calendar of events". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  19. "Women's events in boxing, billiards, three other sports not included in 2017 SEA Games initial list". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  20. "MINISTER CHAIRS OCM-PCM MEETING ON MERGER OF 2017 SEA GAMES-ASEAN PARA GAMES". Official Website. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  21. "APSF BoG MEET ON KUALA LUMPUR 2017 GAMES MERGER". Official Website. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  22. "SEAGF stands with decision to reject Malaysia's proposal". Bernama. The Sun. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  23. Wong, Jonathan (17 February 2016). "SEA Games: Bodybuilding, canoeing, fencing, judo and triathlon in doubt for 2017 KL Games". New Straits Times. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  24. "Kuala Lumpur 2017: Four More Sports Make Cut". Official Website. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  25. "Kuala Lumpur 2017: 38 Sports, 405 Events get the nod". 14 July 2016.

External links

Preceded by
2015
Singapore
29th Southeast Asian Games
2017
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Succeeded by
2019
Davao City, Philippines
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