2025 SEA Games
The 2025 SEA Games, officially called the 33rd SEA Games were an international multi-sport event sanctioned by the Southeast Asian Games Federation. The event took place in December of 2025 from the 9th to the 20th and was held across the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, as well as Chonburi province in Thailand.
The joint bid from the three provinces was awarded the Games on 13th of January, 2023 after Thailand was confirmed as the host country by the Southeast Asian Games Federation. This marks the first time that host cities were selected through a new bidding and election process for the SEA Games.
The 2025 SEA Games marks the seventh time Thailand hosted the event. Co-host city Bangkok previously hosted 4 times, Chiang Mai hosted the 1995 edition, and Nakhon Ratchasima hosted the 2007 edition.
The original co-host Songkhla province was planned to host some events until floods caused by Cyclone Senyar struck shortly prior to the Games, resulting in all events that were to be held in Songkhla to be relocated to venues in Bangkok and Chonburi.
Development and preparations
Host selection
Hosting duties are rotated among the member countries of the SEA Games Federation. Each member country is assigned a specific year to host the event, but they have the option to withdraw or opt out of hosting in that particular edition.2019 disruption
On the 21st of July in 2017, the Philippine Sports Commission announced its decision to withdraw support for the country's hosting of the 2019 SEA Games. The government chose to reallocate funds originally intended for the event to support the rehabilitation of Marawi, which had been devastated by the Marawi crisis. Additionally, it was later reported that the Philippine Olympic Committee's insistence on handling all aspects of the hosting—including finances, security, and the organization of the Games, similar to how it managed the 2005 SEA Games—contributed to the PSC's decision to withdraw its support.On the 10th of August in 2017, Charouck Arirachakaran, the Vice President and Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, stated that Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had agreed to a replacement plan for the 2019 SEA Games following the Philippines' withdrawal. The potential host provinces for the event were Chiang Mai, Chonburi, and Songkhla.
However, six days later, Philippine Olympic Committee President Peping Cojuangco confirmed that it would still host the 2019 SEA Games. This decision came after Cojuangco wrote to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, appealing for reconsideration of the country's earlier withdrawal.
2025 confirmation
In December of 2021, Thailand was nominated as the host country for the 2025 SEA Games during the SEAGF Council and Executive Board Meetings held in Hanoi, Vietnam. Five months later, the SEAGF Council and executive board officially confirmed Thailand as the host for the 2025 SEA Games, with Bangkok initially nominated as the host city. Additionally, Malaysia and Singapore were confirmed as the host countries for the 2027 and 2029 editions of the SEA Games, respectively.After the confirmation, this marked the seventh time that Thailand had hosted the SEA Games. The capital city, Bangkok, hosted the inaugural SEAP Games--the original term for the SEA Games--in 1959, and subsequently in 1967 and 1975, as well as in 1985 after the event had become known as the SEA Games. The 1995 and 2007 editions were held in the Thai provinces of Chiang Mai and Nakhon Ratchasima, respectively.
Bidding and election
On the 11th of October in 2022, Chaipak Siriwat, the Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, revealed the framework for the bidding process for the 2025 SEA Games. He emphasized that the host cities or provinces should aim to organize the Games at a budget-friendly cost and that there would be no requirement to build new venues. Unlike the 2019 and 2021 editions where competition venues were spread across 23 and 12 cities respectively, the number of host cities for the 2025 Games would be limited to 3 or 4.In October of 2022, Prachum Boontiem, the Vice Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, nominated eight bidding parties from twelve cities or provinces interested in hosting the 2025 SEA Games. The city Bangkok as well as the provinces of Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Songkhla submitted sole bids, while the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Chonburi, Songkhla, Krabi, Phuket, Trat, Amnat Charoen, Sisaket, Ubon Ratchathani, and Yasothon were proposed as potential bidding provinces.
Although the official bidding process began in October of 2022, some regions had already revealed their bidding campaigns earlier: Ubon Ratchathani in April of 2016; Chonburi in January of 2019; and Krabi, Phuket, and Trang in February of 2021.
On the 13th of January in 2023, the Sports Authority of Thailand selected three provinces—Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Chonburi province, and Songkhla province—to host the 33rd SEA Games, while Nakhon Ratchasima province was chosen to host the 13th ASEAN Para Games. This decision was approved by the Cabinet of Thailand in February of 2023. These four cities were the first in SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games history to be chosen through a bidding process.
| Individual City Bids | Joint Province Bids |
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Host city contract
During the first SEAGF council meeting for the 2025 SEA Games in June of 2024, the host city contract was signed by Chadchart Sittipunt, the Governor of Bangkok, Thawatchai Srithong, the Governor of Chonburi province, and Somnuek Promkhieo, the Governor of Songkhla province. The ceremony followed the model of the Olympic and Asian Games host city agreements, marking the first time a SEA Games host city contract had been signed.Handover ceremony
The handover ceremony of the SEAGF flag and the artistic performance for the 2025 SEA Games took place during the closing ceremony of the 2023 SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on the 17th of May in 2023 at the Morodok Techo National Stadium.The artistic performance for this segment, titled Sawasdee SEA Games, meaning Hello SEA Games in Thai, was performed by Kid Buaksib, a contemporary Thai dancer and artist. They were a finalist in seasons 1 and 2 of Thailand's Got Talent.
Kick-off ceremony
The kick-off ceremony for the 2025 SEA Games and the 2025 ASEAN Para Games was held at the Hua Mak Sports Complex in Bangkok on the 7th of December in 2024.Sorawong Thienthong, Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Minister of Tourism and Sports, announced that the 2025 SEA Games and the 2025 ASEAN Para Games would be held under the themes of Green SEA Games and Sustainable Paralympics. The games aimed to achieve net-zero emissions by promoting eco-friendly transportation, utilizing sustainable products, and selecting venues that prioritized environmental protection. This environmentally friendly vision would also be implemented in the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship held in August 2025.
Venues
The 2025 SEA Games utilized existing venues across Bangkok Metropolitan Region and Chonburi province, including those used by the 1985 SEA Games, the 1998 Asian Games, and the 2007 Summer Universiade previously held in Bangkok Metropolitan Region.The Bangkok Metropolitan Region, which includes the city Bangkok and the neighboring provinces of Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, and Samut Sakhon, hosted the majority of the 42 sports. Meanwhile, Chonburi hosted 15 sports on its own. Only three events took place in outlying venues: men's football preliminaries held in Chiang Mai, skeet shooting in Ratchaburi, and road bicycle racing in Nakhon Nayok and Prachinburi.
Originally, Songkhla province was intended to host 10 events; however, due to flooding as a result of Cyclone Senyar in late November of 2025, it was ultimately decided to move those events to the remaining venues. It was also reported that Thailand would consider how to compensate the participating nations, as some competitors had already booked flights and accommodation in Songhkla. The original intended venues for the events originally intended for Songkhla are denoted in the footnotes for this section.
;Bangkok cluster
;Chonburi cluster
;Outlying venues
Budget
The initial estimated budget for the 2025 SEA Games and the 2025 ASEAN Para Games was ฿2.055 billion, with ฿1.683 billion requested from the government budget. The budget for these events is lower than the cost of the 1998 Asian Games, which was ฿2.372 billion, but higher than the 2007 Summer Universiade which amounted to ฿1.843 billion. Meanwhile, the costs for the 2007 SEA Games and the 2008 ASEAN Para Games were ฿1.463 billion.Torch relay
The torch relay of the games began on the 16th of November in Bangkok.The Games
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2025 SEA Games was held on the 9th of December in 2025 at Rajamangala Stadium and was opened by King Vajiralongkorn.Sports
Charter and Rules amendment
Over the years, the SEA Games programme have faced criticism for being a "gold-medal mine" for host countries. Hosts have had the freedom to exclude Olympic and Asian Games sports that are disadvantageous to them while including non-Olympic sports or events that increase their medal chances. In some extreme cases, obscure sports have been selected to give the host country an advantage.To avoid the situations seen in recent editions of the SEA Games, Thailand proposed a series of amendments to the SEAGF Charter and Rules in Section 34 during the 2013 edition. Although the Charter and Rules have been amended multiple times since then, host countries were still allowed to allocate their optional sports programs without oversight from the SEAGF. However, following the controversy surrounding the sports program in recent editions, the host countries for the three editions between 2025 and 2029—Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore—agreed to propose further amendments to the Charter and Rules. The new amendments were unanimously approved by SEAGF members at the SEAGF Council meeting during the 2023 SEA Games. The 2025 edition was be the first to implement the new rules.
Section 34 of the amended SEAGF Charter and Rules stipulates that starting with the 2025 edition, the SEA Games program will include a minimum of 36 to 41 sports. This will consist of 12 compulsory sports under Category I, which are included in both the Olympic and Asian Games, a minimum of 25 Olympic and Asian Games sports under Category II, and a maximum of 4 additional sports under Category III. The medal events in Categories I and II must align with the Olympic and Asian Games programs, while events in Category III sports cannot exceed eight and must be selected from a pre-established list, which is determined a few years in advance.