2023 SEA Games
The 2023 Southeast Asian Games, also known as the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, or the 32nd SEA Games, and commonly known as Cambodia 2023, were the 32nd edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial sports multi-sport event which was held from 5 to 17 May 2023 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The event returned to its 2-year cycle, after the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam was delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement was made at the Southeast Asian Games Federation Council meeting in Singapore, in conjunction with the 2015 SEA Games, by the President of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, Thong Khon. The Philippines was originally scheduled to host the games, but was pushed forward to 2019 after Brunei withdrew to host the event. This was the first time that Cambodia hosted the games, as the 1963 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games was cancelled due to the political situation in the country at the time. The event was planned to feature 40 sports. The final number was 37 sports.
Host selection
In 2015, Cambodia was chosen to host the SEA Games 32. The sporting event will take place from May 5 to 17, 2023 in the capital city of Phnom Penh and the provinces of Siem Reap, Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, and Kep. Initially, the Philippines was scheduled to host the SEA Games 32. However, after Brunei declined to host due to a lack of competition venues, infrastructure, and preparation time, the Philippines switched to hosting the SEA Games 30 in 2019.In 2013, the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia announced in a statement that the country's government had agreed in principle to allow the NOCC to bid to host the SEA Games in 2023. According to the plan, Cambodia will build a new Olympic stadium with a total cost of about 150 million USD, in the northeast of the capital Phnom Penh, for the 2023 SEA Games competitions and other international sporting events.
Development and preparation
Venues
Following the host selection announcement, Prime Minister Hun Sen approved the final design of the Games' main stadium. During a state visit by Hun Sen to Beijing in May 2014, Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised to fund the construction of the main stadium of the new multi-purpose sports complex on the satellite city of Phnom Penh in Khan Chroy Changvar. The 60,000-seat main stadium, which was estimated to cost about US$157 million and was built by a Chinese construction firm, was completed between 2019 and 2020 with a Chinese grant covering the entire project. A multipurpose arena, the Morodok Techo National Sports Complex housed an Olympic swimming pool, an outdoor football pitch, a running track, tennis courts and dormitories for athletes.Budget
According to Vongsey Vissoth, Minister attached to the Prime Minister and permanent secretary of state for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, building and setting up the facilities and fields required for the various competitions cost between $30–40 million.Speaking at the public forum Macroeconomic Management and the 2023 Budget Law held in Phnom Penh on 25 January, Vissoth explained that setting up and hosting events at stadiums and other locations might end up costing more than $300 million. In preparation for the event, Cambodia built a number of infrastructures, as well as sports venues and sports facilities.
Volunteers
The National Volunteer Committee of the Cambodian 2023 Southeast Games Organizing Committee announced the recruitment of nearly 7,000 volunteers to assist at the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games.Torch relay
On 21 March 2023, with only less than 45 days before the start of the 32nd SEA Games, King Norodom Sihamoni ignited the torch using the secret flame and passed on the flame to the torch which took place at Angkor Wat. The height of the torch was 75 cm and weighted slightly over one kilogram. The top of the torch was designed to reflect the symbol of Rumduol, Cambodia's national flower and it was plated with gold color to show that the country and its people rose to the top. The design on the handle of the torch was filled with multiple kbach chan connected together to signify the unity in achieving peace and success for the country and Southeast Asia community.The torch relay also began its journey to all other 9 countries in Southeast Asia starting on 24 March before returning back on 28 April. Below is the list of the torch relay run date in each country:
;24 March
;27 March
;1 April
;4 April
;11 April
;15 April
;17 April
;21 April
;25 April
Ticketing, Broadcasting, and Accommodations
On 31 March, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced all tickets for the 5 to 17 May, SEA Games would be free – for both Cambodians and foreigners, but the supporters had to book the tickets before each match to watch inside the stadium. Also international broadcasters were not charged for live television rights to cover the 608 events in 37 sports on offer.Cambodia also fully covered spending on food and accommodation services for sport delegations. Delegates from all 11 countries participating in the SEA Games and the ASEAN Para Games were not required to pay $50 per person per day as had been the case with previous hosts.
Marketing
Branding
The official logo and slogan for the 2023 Southeast Asian Games were decided on 2 July 2020 by the 2023 Cambodian SEA Games Organizing Committee and was officially unveiled on 7 August. A design competition for the games' logo was held in 2019 with the final design reportedly consisting of the Angkor Wat and four dragons as its main motifs. The initial slogan for the games unveiled was "Sport Into Peace". The logo was later slightly revised so it could also be used for the 2023 ASEAN Para Games, while the slogan in English was revised to "Sports Live in Peace".A mascot design competition was also organized in 2019 which was open to Cambodian citizens who were at least 15 years of age. The contest required applicants to submit designs that followed a rabbit theme and reflected Khmer culture. The deadline for the competition was on 30 November 2019. The winning design consisted of two rabbits wearing Bokator attire; a female in red named Rumduol and a male in blue named Borey. Red and blue were colors from the Cambodian flag.
The official song of the Games was "Sports Live in Peace", performed by Preap Sovath, Aok Sokunkanha, Sok Seylalin, Ton Chanseyma and Sayaty.
Sponsors
The Games
Ceremonies
The opening ceremony for the games was held on 5 May 2023, although the cricket and football tournaments commenced one week earlier on 29 April 2023.The closing ceremony for the games was held on 17 May 2023.
Parade of Nations
Participating nations
The 11 members of the Southeast Asian Games Federation participated in the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in 2023, with a total of 12,404 athletes and sports delegates in 584 events across 37 sports. Below is a list of all the participating NOCs.;Southeast Asian Games Federation
Sports
| 2023 SEA Games Sports |
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Calendar
Medal table
;KeyConcerns and controversies
IFMA-led boycott of Kun Khmer competition
In July 2022, the Cambodian SEA Games Organizing Committee decided to link Muay Thai to Kun Khmer and used the name "Kun Khmer " as the official name for the competition. This action resulted from the displeasure of the Cambodian public, who criticized the organizing committee for not displaying sufficient patriotism in its promotion of Cambodia's traditional martial arts.Afterwards, International Federation of Muaythai Associations, the international federation of Muay Thai, has claimed that the organizing committee was seeking to work with an organization that is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia as the sanctioning body for the competition. The IFMA was planning to bring this matter to the attention of the IOC, the IOC Ethics Commission, the OCA, and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
In January 2023, the IFMA sent warnings to each national federation to stop sending their teams to compete in the Kun Khmer competition, otherwise the violating national federations will be banned from upcoming World Games, Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, IFMA World Muaythai Championships, and other IFMA-sanctioned events.
Participation and medal cap
Participating nations are limited in the number of athletes they can enter in certain sports – for example martial arts, dragon boat, and esports, while such restriction is not applied to the host country. The Philippines, which claims to be backed by other participating nations aside from the host, has protested such regulation alleging it to be a strategy for Cambodia to finish at least fourth in the medal tally.The Philippines protested Cambodia's plan to only allow a maximum of two gold medals to be awarded to a competitor in the gymnastics events. This was later revised to three following a complaint from the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines.
In the men's cross country mountain biking cycling event, originally Indonesia made a podium sweep. However, according to the rules of the SEA Games Federation article 37 paragraph C which prohibits the same country from sweeping the medals in one event. This regulation has been in force since 30 May 2010. Thus third place finisher Ihza Muhammad was not awarded the bronze medal, which went to the fourth place rider Khim Menglong of Cambodia.
In badminton, the newly introduced mixed team event came with participation restrictions. The countries affected by this restriction are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Usually, badminton has seven gold medals in contention with two medals from the men's and women's team events, and five from the individual events. Bambang Roedyanto, a technical official for the games, claimed that "Cambodia the opportunity to win medals from , so was held with countries ".