NEW CLARK CITY, Dec 11 — A spectacular fireworks display illuminated the 20,000-seater New Clark City Athletics Stadium as the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines were officially closed tonight after 11 days of competition.
The closing ceremony started with the singing of the Philippine national anthem Lupang Hinirang, led by Arnel Pineda, the lead singer of American rock band Journey, and it was followed by an eye-catching 45-minute drone music show.
The contingents were greeted with loud cheers from the audience as they paraded into the stadium in alphabetical order, starting with Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam, before host nation the Philippines ended the march.
Led by flag-bearer former national wushu exponent Loh Jack Chang, the Malaysian delegation of 24, including deputy chef de mission Nurul Huda Abdullah, proudly entered the stadium.
The later part of the ceremony featured a mini-concert by Pineda along with KO Jones Band as a tribute to the volunteers and workforce who had worked tirelessly since December 1.
Philippines SEA Games Organising Committee (PHISGOC) chairman Alan Peter Cayetano and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino then gave away four special awards, namely Male Best Athlete, Female Best Athlete, Best Team and Fair Play Gold Medallists.
Salvador C. Medialdea, executive secretary of the Philippines President Office, then declared the 30th SEA Games officially closed, before the SEA Games flag was lowered from the flag pole and the cauldron fire was extinguished, marking the end of the Games.
Cayetano, who is Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Tolentino, the SEA Games Federation president, then passed the SEA Games flag to Vietnam Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien, Vietnam Olympic Committee president Prof Nguyen Danh Thai and Hanoi vice-mayor Nguyen Van Suu, before Vietnam’s flag was raised.
This was followed by a cultural performance from the Vietnamese side.
The highlight of the closing ceremony was an energetic performance by renowned American pop band Black Eyed Peas, which turned the crowd wild before the evening concluded with the spectacular fireworks display.
The Malaysian contingent, comprising 773 athletes and 339 officials, finished their campaign with 56 gold, 58 silver and 72 bronze medals, far short of their target of 70-51-105.
Host nation the Philippines emerged the champions for the second time after their first success in 2005 with an astounding haul of 149 gold, 117 silver and 121 bronze medals, followed by Vietnam (98-85-105) and Thailand (92-103-123).
More than 8,000 athletes from the 10 Asean countries and Timor Leste took part in 530 events in 56 sports at the three main clusters, namely Manila, Clark and Subic.
“Paalam Philippines, Chao Mung Vietnam!” — Bernama
