Southeast Asian fans' reactions to consecutive incidents at the opening ceremony of SEA Games 33

(Dan Tri) - Southeast Asian fans expressed disappointment when the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games, which took place on the evening of December 9, had many serious errors regarding the Indonesian flag and the map of Vietnam's sovereignty.

"So disappointing. Such a grand opening ceremony had so many unacceptable mistakes," commented Bintang Bintang from Indonesia on the Asean Football page after watching the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games, hosted by Thailand at the Rajamangala Stadium (Bangkok) on the evening of December 9th.

Accordingly, despite the elaborate and spectacular staging, the Organizing Committee of the SEA Games opening ceremony made several serious mistakes, causing disappointment among fans in Southeast Asia.

The Indonesian flag was mistakenly displayed as Singapore (Screenshot).

Examples of errors include the display of the national flags of previous SEA Games host nations. In the 1997 SEA Games hosted by Indonesia, the large LED screen displayed the correct text "1997 Indonesia," but the flag shown below was that of Singapore.

In the presentation of simulated maps of Southeast Asian countries, the map of Vietnam displayed by the SEA Games 33 organizing committee only included the mainland, completely omitting the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and Phu Quoc island.

The opening ceremony was also interrupted for nearly 30 minutes because an important guest announced by the MC was absent. Specifically, the MC announced that the 33rd SEA Games would have 574 sets of medals, but modern lighting technology displayed 547 sets of medals.

"Very unprofessional, I feel disappointed about this SEA Games," Oh Sukan from Malaysia expressed his disappointment.

"Thailand gave the impression of not taking the SEA Games seriously. They mixed up the national flags, sang the national anthem without sound, and displayed maps that didn't accurately represent their sovereignty . Officials attending the opening ceremony arrived late. I felt there was a lack of the necessary seriousness here," commented Rice, a user from Singapore.

The map of Vietnam displayed on stage is missing the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and Phu Quoc island (Screenshot).

"There were too many mistakes at the opening ceremony. It was like eating a delicious meal and then chewing on a grain of sand – very unpleasant," emphasized Haimi Peace, a user from the Philippines.

"Is this the SEA Games in Thailand? It's not professional at all," commented Daka from Cambodia.

"A compilation of mistakes from the SEA Games from the start until now. 1st mistake: wrong national flag. 2nd mistake: wrong national flag. 3rd mistake: also wrong national flag. 4th mistake: wrong map. 5th mistake: wrong total number of medal sets. So many mistakes, I feel ashamed for my country in front of our Southeast Asian friends," angrily criticized Pond Srithongsod from Thailand.

"A SEA Games full of instability. Having the national flag wrong is unacceptable, but having the map wrong is even more unacceptable," concluded Minh Vu, a user from Vietnam.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/phan-ung-cua-cdv-dong-nam-a-ve-su-co-lien-tiep-o-le-khai-mac-sea-games-33-20251209235936724.htm