Vietnam will have opinions with Thailand about major mistakes at SEA Games 33: Must be apologized

Following a series of serious errors during the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games, particularly the display of a map of Vietnam that omitted the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and Phu Quoc island, Vietnamese sports leaders will officially raise the issue with the Thai organizing committee to clarify and request corrective action.

Major questions remain regarding the preparations of the SEA Games 33 Organizing Committee.

The serious mistake in the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games on the evening of December 9 once again made regional sports fans question the preparations and meticulousness for a regional event for host country Thailand and the 33rd SEA Games Organizing Committee.

The special effects show a map of Vietnam but lack the islands and archipelagos under Vietnamese sovereignty .

SCREENSHOT

Specifically, during the artistic performance at the opening ceremony, while the performers were showcasing traditional dances, the organizers projected a graphic map of various countries onto the Rajamangala Stadium. When the map of Vietnam was shown, many viewers quickly noticed that the special effects omitted the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, along with several other islands under Vietnam's sovereignty.

According to Thanh Nien sources, after learning about this serious mistake at the opening ceremony, the leaders of the Vietnamese sports industry will consult with the SEA Games 33 Organizing Committee to request clarification and correction. The official exchange is to ensure respect between countries and maintain a proper image at a regional event.

He made many mistakes but only apologized officially once.

Notably, mistakes related to images, national flags and national identity have been repeated many times in the 33rd SEA Games so far.

First, the official fanpage of the 33rd SEA Games posted the schedule for the women's futsal tournament, but displayed the Vietnamese flag under the name of Thailand and the Lao flag under the name of Indonesia. This error was reported by the press in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, but after the mistake was discovered, the fanpage quietly deleted the schedule and has yet to offer any official explanation or apology.

The image of the Vietnamese flag is attached to the name of Thailand, while the Lao flag is mistakenly attached to the name of Indonesia.

Shows Indonesia name but flag is Singapore

SCREENSHOT

At the opening ceremony, in addition to the serious mistake in the image of the Vietnam map, the 33rd SEA Games Organizing Committee also made a mistake when introducing the 1997 SEA Games held in Indonesia but mistakenly displayed the Singaporean flag.

Another incident related to the National Anthem in the men's football match between U.23 Vietnam and U.23 Laos is the only incident that the Organizing Committee has admitted its mistake and officially apologized for so far. Specifically, in the match on December 3, during the National Anthem singing ceremony of the two participating teams, due to technical problems, the music could not be played, the two teams and the audience had to sing the National Anthem a cappella in confusion.

Immediately after the match, the Thai Sports Organizing Committee (THASOC) - including the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and the Football Association of Thailand (FA Thailand) - issued an official document to the Vietnam Olympic Committee (VOC) and related parties, acknowledging the serious technical error and expressing “deepest apologies” to all related parties for the inconvenience and disappointment caused by the incident. The document, signed by the Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, Dr. Gongsak Yodmani, stated:

“We offer our deepest apologies for the technical issue before the match between Laos and Vietnam on December 3, 2025, at Rajamangala Stadium, which resulted in the inability to play the national anthems of both countries as scheduled. We pledge that a similar incident will not happen again.”

U.23 Vietnam sings the national anthem without music

PHOTO: Tieu Bao

Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports, Atthakorn Sirilathayakorn, also visited the baseball stadium on December 5th to meet the Vietnamese athletes in person and apologize for the incident at Rajamangala Stadium where the national anthem was not played during the Vietnam U23 vs. Laos U23 match.

Despite commitments to prevent similar incidents from happening again, the organizing committee still made serious mistakes at the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games – a crucial event in the entire tournament – ​​demonstrating a lack of coordinated preparation and insufficient oversight in many important stages.

Making mistakes related to map images, national flags or national identification not only affects the reputation of host country Thailand, but also negatively impacts the spirit of solidarity and respect among countries in the region.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/viet-nam-se-co-y-kien-voi-thai-lan-ve-cac-sai-sot-lon-o-sea-games-33-phai-duoc-xin-loi-185251209213029452.htm