Opening Ceremony lights up Hanoi in spectacular celebration of Southeast Asia as SEA Games
The SEA Games 2021 in 2022 burst into life with fireworks and a captivating cultural show in the Vietnamese capital, the Games officially run from 12-23 May with over 5,000 athletes from 11 nations competing. The SEA Games 2021 (Postponed to 2022) are officially open after a memorable Opening Ceremony in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
The Games came to life in a flourish of colour, dance and performance, all under the banner of the Games slogan 'For A Stronger Southeast Asia.' Highlights included a beautiful lotus dance representing inspiration, aspiration, and strength, and the unveiling of 11 woodcut folk paintings accompanied by a dance. They represent the diversity and unique cultural identity of each participating nation, a unifying dance aimed at strengthening regional friendship and solidarity.
The athletes' parade followed with representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
Despite CNA apologising for mismatching countries & flags for SEA Games medal tally table, netizens have a field day
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/malaysiapunyabola/posts/5417776261587573
Netizens on Reddit had a field day in the comments section, despite CNA apologising for broadcasting a SEA Games medal tally table that mismatched nine out of 11 countries’ names and flags.
Out of the 11 countries, only Myanmar and Timor-Leste were matched correctly. The erroneous table was shown for less than half a minute and then corrected for subsequent updates.
In a Facebook post on Thursday (May 12), CNA said: “We made a mistake in our SEA Games medal tally table which aired on Asia First on CNA at around 7:50am this morning. The names of the countries participating in the SEA Games and their respective national flags were mismatched.
The error was on air for about 25 seconds. This error was corrected for subsequent SEA Games updates during Asia First, which included an on-air apology. We deeply regret this happened. It falls short of the professional standards that we expect of ourselves and we extend a sincere apology to our viewers. We will strive to do better.”
CNA 11 May at 19:46
We made a mistake in our SEA Games medal tally table which aired on Asia First on CNA at around 7:50am this morning. The names of the countries participating in the SEA Games and their respective national flags were mismatched. The error was on air for about 25 seconds. This error was corrected for subsequent SEA Games updates during Asia First, which included an on-air apology. We deeply regret this happened. It falls short of the professional standards that we expect of ourselves and we extend a sincere apology to our viewers. We will strive to do better.
2021 Southeast Asian Games
The 2021 Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as the 31st Southeast Asian Games or 31st SEA Games, is a biennial regional multi-sport event being held from 12 to 23 May 2022 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Originally scheduled to take place from 21 November to 2 December 2021, it was rescheduled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition features 40 sports, mainly those played at the Olympic Games.This is the second time that Vietnam hosts the Southeast Asian Games, having previously hosted the 2003 edition.
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City both submitted bids to host the games. While Ho Chi Minh City was initially favoured, Hanoi is later deemed to be the more suitable location due to its existing sporting infrastructure. This came after the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng ordered provinces and cities to not build new sporting facilities as a cost-saving measure, following the country's withdrawal from hosting the 2018 Asian Games due to financial restraints
According to Hanoi's submitted proposal to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), the city would spend 1.7 trillion VND ($77 million) on preparing and organizing the 2-week games running from late November to December. 97 billion VND ($4.3 million) is expected to be earned back from broadcast rights, advertisements, sponsors and other contributions. In December 2017, Ho Chi Minh City Municipal Standing Committee of the Communist Party approved of the city's hosting proposal. According to the proposal, the direct cost for hosting the Games in the city is estimated to be 7.48 trillion VND ($330 million) with 6.6 trillion VND (US$290 million) to be spent on upgrading sports facilities and 904 billion VND ($40 million) on organizing costs. However, another 8.2 trillion VND ($360 million) is needed for the construction of Rach Chiec Sports Complex while an athletes' village will not be built. The Games would run for 12 days in mid-August and see 30-36 sports being contested. The provinces of Đồng Nai and Bình Dương would also host a portion of Games
