Host Thailand races ahead of opening ceremony

The 33rd SEA Games 2025 flame will be officially lit on December 9, but so far, a rather gloomy atmosphere has still covered the organization of the host country Thailand.

Difficulties piled up

The tight budget for the organization is considered the first sign that the 33rd SEA Games will not be as perfect as the previous confident statements. Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul himself admitted that the lack of funding was identified very early. The total budget allocated to Thailand for the organization is just over 2 billion baht, significantly lower than the equivalent of 3 billion baht that Cambodia spent for the 32nd SEA Games 2 years ago.

Chủ nhà Thái Lan chạy đua trước lễ khai mạc - Ảnh 1. — Newspaper and radio reporters in the area receiving press cards at SEA Games 33. Photo: NGOC LINH

The difficulties were compounded when Songkhla province - one of the three original venues - had to withdraw due to flooding. The ten sports scheduled to take place there were forced to move to Bangkok and Chonburi, costing the organizing committee nearly 200 million baht more to repair infrastructure, arrange accommodation and logistics. It is worth noting that, in the context of the central budget having to prioritize disaster relief work, adding funding for the SEA Games is almost "impossible".

The consequences of the lack of preparation quickly appeared. On the opening day of the men's football match on December 3, the flag-raising ceremony at the Vietnam-Laos match suddenly "broke down" because the sound system could not play the national anthems of the two countries.

The media campaign has also been a huge disappointment. Many regional news agencies have described the 33rd SEA Games as “the quietest event in history”. In Thailand, the event atmosphere was barely visible on the streets, while many people admitted they had no idea about the competition schedule or venue. This indifference was in stark contrast to the vibrant atmosphere of previous times Thailand hosted the games.

The art team for the opening ceremony, which had been preparing for 7 months, had to stop due to delays in receiving funding and lack of commitment documents. The sudden change of team severely affected the reputation of the organizing committee, forcing Minister of Tourism and Sports Atthakorn Sirilatthayakorn to speak up to explain.

The 33rd SEA Games was also negatively affected by the Thailand-Cambodia diplomatic tensions. Cambodia suddenly announced its withdrawal from 9 sports for safety reasons, leading to changes in the competition schedule, disruption of the organization structure and forcing the opening ceremony to be moved from Sanam Luang Square to Rajamangala Stadium to ensure security.

Missing many stars

Along with the organizational turmoil, there are controversies over sportsmanship and rules. The story of the Cambodian triathlon team sending to Thailand all 11 naturalized athletes - many of whom are world-class - has caused a stir in the region about fair competition. Host Thailand, on the one hand, issued a regulation banning naturalized athletes from competing in 5x5 basketball, but at the same time still allowing foreign players to participate in 3x3 events.

Administrative interference in the competition program has resulted in the absence of many top regional stars. The Vietnamese sports delegation will be without Le Quang Liem because the host country has removed the singles standard chess event. Gymnastics superstar Carlos Yulo has turned his back on the SEA Games because of the rule that "each athlete can only win a maximum of 1 gold medal", while the entire Indonesian male badminton team has withdrawn to preserve their strength for the BWF World Tour Finals.

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