Indonesian media comments on the unacceptable incident at the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games.

(Dan Tri) - Indonesian media has criticized serious errors in the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games organized by host country Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium (Bangkok) on the evening of December 9.

"The mix-up of the Indonesian flag with the Singaporean flag tarnished the opening ceremony of the 2025 SEA Games," CNN Indonesia commented on the mistakes made by the host country Thailand's organizing committee at the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games.

The opening ceremony of the 2025 Southeast Asian Games was truly an elaborate and spectacular event, with traditional dance performances combined with laser and LED graphic displays creating a breathtaking spectacle.

The map of Vietnam displayed by the SEA Games 33 organizing committee only includes the mainland, completely omitting the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and Phu Quoc island (Screenshot).

However, the opening ceremony, which lasted more than two and a half hours, was not without controversy. After the opening ceremony was slightly delayed due to the absence of King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Sineenat, the event was further marred by a technical glitch that resulted in the Indonesian flag being mistaken for the Singaporean flag.

"This is not the first time the Indonesian flag has been mistaken at the 2025 SEA Games. Previously, when the women's football match schedule was announced on the official website of the 33rd SEA Games, the Organizing Committee mistakenly replaced the Lao flag with the Indonesian flag. Meanwhile, the Thai flag was also mistaken for the Vietnamese flag," CNN Indonesia criticized the systematic errors of the SEA Games Organizing Committee.

Notably, the Indonesian newspaper also pointed out other unacceptable errors at the SEA Games opening ceremony when the projection of simulated images of Southeast Asian countries and the map of Vietnam displayed by the 33rd SEA Games Organizing Committee only included the mainland, completely missing the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa, Truong Sa and Phu Quoc Island.

The announcement for the 33rd SEA Games listed 574 sets of medals, but the program's MC and modern lighting technology displayed 547 sets of medals.

"The SEA Games 2025 kicked off with spectacular performances, traditional cultural dances, laser games, and mesmerizing LED graphics. Despite some minor inconvenience caused by the delayed opening ceremony, the series of events continued for over two and a half hours."

However, the excitement was marred by a technical glitch when Indonesia was introduced as the host country of the 1997 SEA Games; instead of displaying the red and white national flag, the screen showed the Singapore flag," commented Indonesia's Sumut Juara newspaper on the incident at the SEA Games opening ceremony.

"Another mistake occurs when introducing Vietnam; the national map is incomplete as it does not show the Paracel and Spratly Islands."

"This series of errors has provoked public criticism and further highlights the Committee's inadequate preparation for organizing Southeast Asia's biggest sporting event," the Indonesian newspaper emphasized.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-indonesia-binh-luan-ve-su-co-kho-chap-nhan-o-le-khai-mac-sea-games-33-20251210090342008.htm