XXX Southeast Asian Games

Host city	Various (See below)
Motto	"We Win as One"[1]
Nations	11
Athletes	5,630
Events	530 in 56 sports (63 disciplines)
Opening	30 November 2019
Closing	11 December 2019
Opened by	Rodrigo Duterte President of the Philippines
Closed by	Salvador Medialdea Executive Secretary of the Philippines[2]
Athlete's Oath	Francesca Altomonte
Judge's Oath	Daren Vitug
Torch lighter	Manny Pacquiao Nesthy Petecio
Main venue	Philippine Arena (opening ceremony) New Clark City Athletics Stadium (closing ceremony)
Website	SEA Games PH 2019 at the Wayback Machine (archived December 31, 2019)
← Kuala Lumpur 2017 Hanoi 2021 →

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v t e

The 2019 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 30th Southeast Asian Games, or the 30th SEA Games, and commonly known as Philippines 2019, was the 30th edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial regional multi-sport event which was held in the Philippines from 30 November to 11 December 2019. However, due to a narrow calendar, some sports started before the opening ceremony as early as November 24.^[3]

This edition was marked by the first major decentralization in the history of the Games, with competition venues spread in 23 cities across the country and divided into four clusters; all were located on the island of Luzon (Metro Manila, Clark, Subic/Olongapo, and a fourth cluster consisting of standalone venues in Cavite, Laguna, and La Union). This was the country's fourth time to host the games, and its first since 2005. Previously, it had also hosted the 1981 and 1991 editions of the games. This edition was most notable for being the first edition to include esports, obstacle course race, kurash, sambo, underwater hockey, breaking, surfing, modern pentathlon, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, and skateboarding; as well as having the highest number of sports in the history of the games, at a total of 56.

The hosting rights were originally awarded to Brunei in 2012,^[4] but the country pulled out days before the 2015 SEA Games due to "financial and logistical reasons."^[5]

The Philippines was previously slated to host the 2023 SEA Games but, in July 2015, it agreed to host the Games after Brunei's withdrawal (with Cambodia taking its place for 2023). However, the Philippines' hosting was left uncertain following the withdrawal of government support two years later as it planned to use the funds intended for the games for the rehabilitation of Marawi after being occupied by ISIS supporters. Thailand and Indonesia offered to host the games with the latter planning to reuse the venues used for the 2018 Asian Games.^[6] However, by August 16, 2017, the Philippine government reversed its withdrawal.^[7]

The host country, Philippines, emerged in the medal tally as the overall champion for the first time in 14 years, breaking its own medal count record in 2005, followed by Vietnam and Thailand. Several games and national records were broken during the games. Amidst numerous controversies and problems, the games were deemed generally successful with the rising standard of competition amongst the Southeast Asian nations, with its hosting being lauded by the Olympic Council of Asia for its facilities and hospitality. The Philippines planned to bid for the hosting rights for the 2030 Asian Games but was unable to submit the bid by the deadline.^[8][9]

Quah Zheng Wen of Singapore was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for male athletes, having won six golds and two silvers, while Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên of Vietnam, with the same medal tally, was accorded MVP honors for female athletes.^[10] The fairplay award was awarded to Roger Casugay for saving a fellow competitor's life.^[11]

Host selection

As per SEA Games traditions, hosting duties are rotated among the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) member countries. Each country is assigned to host the event in a predetermined year, but the country could choose to withdraw or not host that edition.^[12]

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 games.^[13] 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 and Brunei in 2017. However, the sultanate gave up hosting the Games in 2017, in exchange for having more time to organize the 2019 edition. Brunei hosted the Games only once in 1999 and planned to upgrade its sports facilities and build a new national stadium in Salambigar to accommodate the Games.^[4][14] However, on June 4, 2015, Brunei withdrew its hosting rights at the meeting in Singapore after the said country's Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports had failed to give support for the Games due to the lack of sporting facilities, accommodation, and preparation of their athletes.^[5][15]

Philippines

With Brunei's withdrawal, the Philippines had expressed its interest to host the Games^[16][17][18] Vietnam, the 2021 Southeast Asian Games host, was also offered to host this edition, but declined.^[19] On July 10, 2015, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) announced that the Philippines will be hosting the Games.^[20] Davao City and Manila were touted as the top candidates for the main host city of the Games.^[21] Cebu City^[22] and Albay^[23] also expressed interest in hosting some events.

On July 21, 2017, The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) addressed the POC that it is withdrawing its support for the Philippine hosting of the 2019 Games, saying that government decided to reallocate funds meant for hosting to the rehabilitation efforts of Marawi, which was left devastated following the Battle of Marawi^[21][24] and it was later reported that the POC's insistence on handling all matters of the hosting; finance, security and the conduct of the Games as it did for the 2005 SEA Games led to the PSC's withdrawal of support.^[25]

However, in August 2017, the Philippines, through the then-POC president Peping Cojuangco, confirmed that the country will be hosting the 2019 SEA Games, after Cojuangco wrote to then-President Rodrigo Duterte and appealed for reconsideration.^[26]

Cojuangco has stated that the Games would be held in the Central Luzon area, particularly in the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, and Zambales. He added that the Philippine Arena in the municipality of Bocaue in Bulacan province would "most likely" be used in the Games.^[27] In January 2018, during the groundbreaking of the New Clark City Sports Hub (then known as the Philippine Sports City), it was announced that the organizers will attempt to hold all events of the games outside of Manila with New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, Subic, and Bulacan as main host localities.^[28]

Handover ceremony

During the closing ceremony of the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, the symbolic SEA Games Federation council flag was handed over by outgoing Malaysian Olympic Committee president HRH Tunku Tan Sri Imran to then-Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose "Peping" Cojuangco, who in turn passed the flag to then-Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, who will be the Chairman of organizing committee for 2019 games.^[29]

In contrast of other closing ceremonies held throughout the SEA Games, only a discrete video promoting tourism in the Philippines was presented instead of a grand presentation for the next host country. One of the reasons given by the Philippine Olympic Committee is the cost of holding a handover ceremony, at ₱8 billion. Another reason is to give focus on the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Malaysian federation.^[30][31]

Development and preparations

Unlike the 2005 games, the 2019 SEA Games adopted a different organizing structure for the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC). According to Philippine Sports Commission chairman William Ramirez, Foreign Affairs Secretary (later House Speaker) Alan Peter Cayetano would be appointed as the organizing committee chairman, instead of the Philippine Olympic Committee president who presumed the role in 2005.^[32] Senator Migz Zubiri was initially the head of the organizing committee before being replaced by Cayetano.^[33]

At least three meetings were held for the preparation of the games. The first meeting was held in Shangri-la Hotel at the Fort on May 16 and 17, 2018. Another meeting was held on November 23 and 24, 2018.^[34]

Officials of National Sports Associations of the Philippines were designated as competition managers and were tasked to deal with local arrangements concerning their sport including logistics, venues and equipment.^[35]

Costs

The budget for the games is at least ₱7.5 billion (US$147 million as of July 31, 2019). ₱6 billion(US$118 million) were provided by the government while the rest were secured by PHISGOC from sponsorship agreements. The government funds were allocated to the Philippine Sports Commission with ₱5 billion(US$98 million) from the funds approved by the Philippine Congress and the remainder derived from augmentation fund approved by then-President Rodrigo Duterte.^[36] Duterte approved the additional funds by May 2019.^[37]

Ticketing

The organizers entered negotiations with SM Tickets for ticketing systems. All tickets for all events were originally planned to cost a fee, with sports determined to be less popular by the organizers, to have a minimal fee.^[38] On October 3, 2019, tickets for the opening ceremony and select events were made on available on all SM Tickets branches and online.^[39] However, in a few days leading to the opening ceremony, there were clamors to make the tickets free to the general public. Public figures and groups, such as the Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas President Monico Puentevella and the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines appealed to then-President Rodrigo Duterte to make the tickets free.^[40] Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo suggested the organizers to give the tickets free or charge tickets at a discounted price for students.^[41]

On November 29, 2019, upon instructions of then-President Duterte, tickets were made available for free for all sporting events, except basketball, football and volleyball, which were sold out.^[42] Tickets were also made available for free for the closing ceremony, with organizers giving 10,000 tickets to SM Tickets for distribution and thousands of other tickets to local government units.^[43]

Transportation

Organizers coordinated with the Department of Transportation regarding logistics for the games including the possible closure of the North Luzon Expressway to the public for 12 hours before the opening ceremony.^[44]

Vehicles, including 362 public buses, 162 sedans and 100 VIP cars, were planned to be bought and 268 vans were to be rented for use for the regional games.^[44] There were also three self-driving electric vehicles will be provided by American firm Connected Autonomous Shared Transportation (COAST) for transportation of passengers in New Clark City at no cost to the government.^[45]

Volunteers

The organizers of the games launched a volunteer program in April 2019 in Taguig to aid the organization of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games with the target of volunteers initially set to 12,000.^[46] Around 9,000 individuals were recruited among those 20,686 people who expressed interest to join the volunteering program, 14,683 of which applied through official online portals. 2,960 applicants were foreigners while 6,003 were elected by educational institutions. There were approximately 2,250 volunteers in the Clark cluster, 1,980 in the Subic cluster, 3,150 in Metro Manila, and 1,620 in other venues not part of the first three clusters.^[47]

Medals

The official medals for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games were designed by Filipino metal sculptor Daniel dela Cruz, who also designed the SEA Games torch, incorporating elements inspired by the Philippines. On the medal's front, above the SEA Games logo is a sail or "layag" typically used by Filipino boats. Encircling the logo are sea waves signifying the Philippine archipelago. At the back is a rendering of the sports facilities at the New Clark City, site of the SEA Games, which was incorporated using high density etching. Symbols of the various sports are embedded using laser etching.^[48][49]

The gold medal is made of 24-karat gold plated material and its wave design in front is made of rhodium via bi-plating. The bronze medal was made "rose gold" in color instead of the traditional brown hue. The ribbon used to hold the medal features a double-sided design; one side features the colors associated with the Southeast Asian Games and the other is decorated with traditional Filipino weave patterns.^[48] They were accompanied by a wooden carrying box, while medalists also received flower bouquets, Pami and Philippine Airlines aircraft stuffed toys.

Torch

1

2

3

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2019 Southeast Asian Games torch run route.

October 30 01. Davao City

November 16 02. Cebu City

November 23 03. Angeles City

The design of the official torch for the games was designed by Filipino metal sculptor Daniel dela Cruz^[50] The torch was inspired from the sampaguita (Jasminum sambac) the Philippines' national flower and the hammered portions of the object represents the rays of the Philippine flag's sun.^[49] According to the organizers, the sun symbolizes "unity, sovereignty, social equality, and independence" aside from sharing the same symbolism of the sun of the Philippine flag. The torch weighs about 1.5 kilograms, not too heavy for the torch bearer.^[51] The torch was officially unveiled on August 23, 2019, at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay during the 100-day countdown to the games.^[50]

Torch relay

Preceding the torch run in the Philippines^[51] was the ceremonial lighting of the lantern at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on October 3, 2019. During the ceremony, Malaysian authorities handed the torch to the Philippine authorities.^[52][53] During the ceremony, the flame was placed on a special lantern and was brought to Davao City to start the domestic part of the relay across the nation.^[54]

The Philippine part of the relay, started in front of SM Lanang in Davao City on October 30, 2019.^[55] The second leg of the run, participated by 6,500 runners was held at Cebu South Coastal Road in Cebu City on November 16, 2019.^[56] The final leg was held on November 23, 2019, at the Bayanihan Park in Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga.^[57]

Cauldron

The cauldron is a metal structure that stands at 12.5 meters (41 ft), built outside the New Clark City Athletics Stadium in Capas, Tarlac and it was lit on November 30 by the boxers Manny Pacquiao and Nesthy Petecio during the opening ceremony.^[58] The inside is a hollow space filled with gravel, Inside the cauldron, there is an open space, which is filled with gravel, being supported by several metal structures on each side of the structure. According to the PHISGOC, estimated costs for the construction and maintenance of the cauldron are estimated in ₱47 million.^[59]

The cauldron was designed by National Artist for Architecture, Francisco Mañosa, which was his last project prior to his death.^[60]

Venues

Clark

Subic

Manila

BLT (Batangas and Tagaytay)

BLT (La Union)

Bocaue

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Four main hubs or clusters of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. The fourth cluster was designated as "Other Areas" which includes venues that are not part of either Manila, Subic, or Clark clusters.

There were four designated clusters or hubs for the sporting events of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games namely Clark, Subic, Metro Manila, and "Other Areas".^[61] Previously the fourth cluster was reportedly known as the BLT (Batangas, La Union, and Tagaytay) Cluster^[62] The main hub is Clark in the sports complex at the National Government Administrative Center, New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.^[63] The secondary venue will be Subic^[64] while the tertiary venue will be Metro Manila and the other nearby areas.^[65] The Philippine Sports Commission confirmed that Manila would host boxing, basketball, and volleyball events while Subic would host water sport events.^[66]

The NOC (National Olympic Committee) mansions and villas for accommodating of the delegates from the competing countries were built in New Clark City. Each mansion would have 15 to 17 rooms each.^[67]

The opening ceremony was held at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan^[68] while the closing ceremony was held at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium.^[69]

Competition venues

Clark cluster

Metro Manila cluster

Subic cluster

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