Philippines will host 2005 south east asian games

[jetrool]

pls. visit the 23rd sea games official website, www.2005seagames.com.ph2rd south east asia games

[jetrool]

hey, want to be a volunteer to this prestigious event? log in to www.seagames2005.com.ph

[daniel_macau2005]

have the offical web ar?

[NewYork2016]

This could be the first time in SEA Games history that the opening and closing ceremonies won't be held on an athletics venue...

2005 SEA Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies

It's a good idea for the Philippines to do this since our country is plagued by corruption and political problems. At leasat, we don't need to spend billions of pesos to build a modern, white-elephant athletics stadium in the heart of Mega-Manila.

[baron-pierreIV]

I know the director.  Other than what she's seen on other Ceremonies, I don't think she knows what she'll be doing.

[NewYork2016]

I know the director.  Other than what she's seen on other Ceremonies, I don't think she knows what she'll be doing.

I just hope she's not going to do something similar to those crappy awards shows in the Phils. It could easily be a 6-7 hour nightmare if that happens.

Anyway, it's a perfect location though because it's beside the water? (Is it still?) and the Rizal monument. What a good view for those staying in the Manila hotel at the time of the ceremonies. Plus, the "common" people or "masa", would be able to watch it since it is a public park, so the admission should be free.

[NewYork2016]

4 days to go!!!

[_olympian_]

The mascot is the Philippine Tarsier, the smallest monkey in the world. But that was actually replaced in March this year by the endangered Philippine Eagle, the 2nd largest in the world. And the logo is a combination of the colors and cultures found in the Philippines.

The Philippines previously hosted in 1981 and 1991. The country never claimed the top stop in any versions of the SEA Games and we are actually aiming at getting it this year. The 2005 edition will feature more than 400 gold medals and the Philippines is targeting of getting 140 golds, which will catapult it to the overall championship. The most we have won was in 1991, with 91 gold medals, 1 shy of Indonesia at 92.

This edition of the SEA Games also will feature the whole Philippines, not just Metropolitan Manila. Some events will be played in different islands of the Philippines, like the Negros Oriental and Occidental, Cebu, Panay Islands, Pampanga (In the main island of Luzon, hometown of the current President) to name a few. The Stadium that was used in 1981 and 1991 for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, will again be utilized. There was some talk that they'll use Quirino Grandstand, where Pope John Paul II officiated his largest attended mass ever at 4 million people, but it was scrapped in the last minute for security reasons.

I was still in the Philippines in 1991 and it was a blast when we hosted. I remember during the games that it was the talk of the town. My country is starting to make strides right now in the sporting world and is targeting the Asian Basketball Championships in 2007 to qualify for the 2008 Oympics, as it is the national pasttime. Hopefully they'll qualify for 2012 so I can cheer them when they come to me here (hopefully), in NYC!!!    :unclesam:

DON'T THANKS FOR BACKING UP OUR CULTURE!

[NewYork2016]

1 more day to go... And as we say in Filipino, ISANG TULOG NA LANG!!!

[_olympian_]

1 more day to go... And as we say in Filipino, ISANG TULOG NA LANG!!!

I really hope Gloria Arryo dosent show up...It will cause to much comotion.

[NewYork2016]

1 more day to go... And as we say in Filipino, ISANG TULOG NA LANG!!!

I really hope Gloria Arryo dosent show up...It will cause to much comotion.

I too, am hoping she's not going to attend. But I don't think we don't have a choice though. She's still the President. She should attend the Ceremonies in Manila.

[NewYork2016]

Day one...

Early lead for the Pinoys, 5 golds, 5 silvers and 4 bronzes

49 golds at stake tomorrow...  

GO PHILIPPINES!!!

[NewYork2016]

The Philippines is flying high after 2 days of competition!

Medal Tally

25 Golds!

[blueview]

It's been solong since I've been back here in GB!

I was among the thousands (100,000) spectators tha braved the SEA Games' Opening Ceremonies in Manila last Sunday and I was so releived that they truly lived up to their promise on an austere but COLORFUL show.

It lasted for about one and a half hours which started with the singing of the Philippines' nbational anthem. What's so nice about the ceremonies is that it was so concise but did not sacrifice artistry or the show of Filipino's musical talent.

The grandstand was covered by the mammoth stage structure occupying the central area, the dignitaries podium to its right and the flagpoles and the cauldron to its left. The games' logo of the mask became a central figure to the stage with stylized figures occupying either bays. A staircase inspired by the Banaue Rice Terraces form the performance area which provided the interesting changes in level during the performances. Ramps and gangways connect thgese areas together.

The whole duration of the ceremonies was serenaded with the masterful pieces specially made for the event by Ryan Cayabyab together with the 100 piece San Miguel Philharmonic and the San Miguel Master Chorale which were positioned at the rear of the stage.

Special segments like the tribute to the Souteast Asian countries, "One Heritage, One Southeast Asia", and the "Ati atihan were executed by student volunteers and professional dancers which included the Bayanihan Dance Troupe, and the Hotlegs. Bayang Barrios, a local folk singer performed as the "storyteler" in these segments where she donned a gown reminiscent of Bjork's in Athens last year.

Fireworks which is reminiscent of Salt Lake City in 2002 were positioned atop the grandstand's roof and were lit off in the finale.

A local band "Rivermaya" gave the animated crowd its repertoire of their hits with particular mention to their new song which is also madfe for the affair entitled "Posible"

The only downside is that, the venue though is both historical, and economically sustainable does so little for spectator comfort who has to tiptoe to have improved viewing of the performances. all in all it was nice, but if it was held in a stadium, it would have been alot better.

[theone]

The website sucks. Not referring to the design though.. just the functionality of it. Very slow in publishing results and the results are not comprehensive. Wish they could have done better.

News updates.. bad!

I like the setting of the opening ceremony, but not practical when you have 200,000 (as reported somewhere) people trying to see what's going on in front.

[blueview]

True, the website does suck! I think they (the organizers) struck a deal with that Trace school to handle the website and has not really been that experienced in handling these international events with regards to the delivery of information or the photos either.

The venue for the ceremony is good but if I was to choose between that and an Athletics stadiumI'd choose the latter. The grandstand's choice though it did turn out fine was really borne out of the austerity measures that plagued the organizers for months now. As far as the local police authority count is concerned the attendance in last Sunday's ceremonies was pegged at 200,000 people so you just can imagine how difficult it wasfor the people at the rear to have a good view of the event.

I do hope our Southeast Asian neighbors appreciate our country's efforts in staging this event and for putting up last Sunday's simple but colorful ceremony.

Another tidbit on the venue: Quirino Grandstand and the Luneta (Rizal) Park was the site of the largest papal mass ever assembled in the world with a modest estimate of 5M people in attendance in January 1995 during the World Youth Day's Concluding Mass.

Here's some pictures of the preparations of the venue prior to the ceremonies last Sunday: shown are the grandstand with the massive truss structure for the lights and the colorful stage with its terraced steps, the parade grounds which doubled as the "track" for the athletes and the simple cauldron surrounded by the flagpoles of the participating countries.

[blueview]

In case anybody was wondering how the cauldron was lit, It was very simple and is reminiscent of Brunei's when it hosted in 1999 but withn a minor exception, this year's cauldron was far more cooler that theirs.

The segment begins with the introduction of the last torchbearer Toni Leviste who came as an equestrienne galloping with her horse towards the end of the park where she's being awaited by the firestarter Toni Rivero (of Taekwondo), she then runs towards the stage and positions beside the Cauldron/pillar. She ignites a smaller cauldron at the base and the fire now within the columns shoots upward effectively lighting the flame on top.

In terms of the SEA Games flame lighting, Chang Mai (Thailand in 1995) tops my list. I'll place this year's second since it was an obvious departure from the cauldron designs or lighting methods used in Vietnam's(2003), Malaysia's(2001), Brunei's(1999), Indonesia's(1997),or Singapore's(1993).

In terms of SEA Games ceremonies, I'll have to place Vietnam's (2003) on top for the massive production. I think like in Athens' this year's ceremonies were special in its own distinct way.

[NewYork2016]

As I've always followed the SEA and Asian Games when I was still in the Philippines, it just irks me a lot that I'm not able to watch or listen to it here in the USA. Add to that, the official website which really doesn't deliver us the action in the SEA Games promptly. I just wish they could have given the rights of broadcasting the event to ABS-CBN which has at least 3 video channels here, or maybe to GMA. At least, we can get some live coverage of the action.

[NewYork2016]

Another great day for Pinoy Athletes... 41 Gold Medals and counting!!!

The Philippines broke another record in athletics to set off another golden rampage as the host country, with still six days of competition left, moved close to surpassing the number of gold medals it won in 2003.

Sixteen gold medals came one after the other yesterday, three of them in wushu and two each in athletics, fencing and wrestling, to give the Philippines a pacesetting total of 41 gold, 24 silver and 27 bronze medals.

With over 300 golds yet to be disputed, the Philippines is practically assured of a better finish in this 23rd SEA Games. It won 49 gold, 55 silver and 75 bronze medals to finish fourth in Vietnam two years ago.

"It’s good. But like in basketball, we have to hold on to the lead until the final two minutes. So we’ll have a chance to win," said Philippine Sports Commission chairman Butch Ramirez.

The medal tally released by organizers as of 10 last night showed Vietnam in second (25-23-28) followed by Thailand (19-29-35), Malaysia (17-14-18) and Indonesia (10-17-23).

Singapore is next (9-9-18) then Myanmar (6-8-11), Brunei (0-2-2) and Laos (0-1-3). Cambodia has two bronzes under its name while newcomer Timor Leste is the only nation with no medal yet.

Follow the story here

[baron-pierreIV]

So this begs the question: should poorer (or shall we say, where sports is not a top priority) countries get sporting events, and they hold Ceremonies as Manila did - simpler scale, open to the people, but you get less than state-of-the-art Ceremonies?  Or

- Award them only to more well-off countries that can really pack a punch insofar as outstanding Ceremonies?

IMHO, let the better-off countries foot the bill; because at the same time, you'll get quite spectacular Ceremonies.   But that is MHO only.

[NewYork2016]

I think the SEA Games is different compared to the Asian or Olympic Games. As the latter 2 are decided by bidding to host and the SEA Games is somewhat a "rotation". It was until 1999 when Malaysia should host, but passed on as they'll be hosting the Commonwealth Games. Brunei hosted that year and Malaysia got its turn in 2001 which is supposed to be the Philippines turn.

Vietnam requested to be the hosts for the next games in 2003, and they got it. Further pushing the Philippines hosting to this year, coinciding with political instability in the country which I think is the main reason why the country is cramming and just finished the necesarry preparations on the 11th hour. I wished they could have done more as the country's economy is growing, that is the rich people in the Philippines as they can foot the bill. They could have at least renovated Rizal Memorial Oval or built a Stadium where it could be cheap, in Pampanga for example. But, as the country is plagued by political problems, I feel that this is a missed opportunity to rebuild some areas, and create a lot of new projects.

But, as the Philippines is already hosting, they should make the best of it. Meaning, at least win the overall championship. As host countries try to do so, everytime they host.

[theone]

23rd SEA Games Medal Summary

(Unofficial as of 10:00PM Nov.29)  

Country - Gold - Silver - Bronze - Total

PHILIPPINES 38 21 25 84

VIETNAM 20 20 29 69

THAILAND 17 25 30 72

MALAYSIA 17 13 17 47

INDONESIA 10 16 24 50

SINGAPORE 6 8 16 30

MYANMAR 6 8 8 22

BRUNEI 0 2 2 4

LAOS 0 1 3 4

CAMBODIA 0 0 1 1

TIMOR LESTE 0 0 0 0

That's what is shown now on the website.. which is 10.48AM Nov 30.. local time... not updated for the past 12 hours.

Very bad, considering how the technology has evolved to give real-time results. At least the Malaysian Games (our local Asian Games-like event) always produce almost real-time result with news updated as they come...

It seems like there is only 1 guy managing the website.

[theone]

MANILA SEA GAMES 2005 MEDAL TALLY

G S B Ttl

Philippines 38 21 25 84

Vietnam 20 20 29 69

Malaysia 18 14 19 51

Thailand 17 25 30 72

Indonesia 10 16 24 50

Singapore 6 8 16 30

Myanmar 6 8 8 22

Brunei 0 2 2 4

Laos 0 1 3 4

Cambodia 0 0 1 1

As reported by the New Straits Times Malaysia this morning..

Even today's Manila Times could not get it right...

[theone]

I think the SEA Games is different compared to the Asian or Olympic Games. As the latter 2 are decided by bidding to host and the SEA Games is somewhat a "rotation". It was until 1999 when Malaysia should host, but passed on as they'll be hosting the Commonwealth Games. Brunei hosted that year and Malaysia got its turn in 2001 which is supposed to be the Philippines turn.

Vietnam requested to be the hosts for the next games in 2003, and they got it. Further pushing the Philippines hosting to this year, coinciding with political instability in the country which I think is the main reason why the country is cramming and just finished the necesarry preparations on the 11th hour. I wished they could have done more as the country's economy is growing, that is the rich people in the Philippines as they can foot the bill. They could have at least renovated Rizal Memorial Oval or built a Stadium where it could be cheap, in Pampanga for example. But, as the country is plagued by political problems, I feel that this is a missed opportunity to rebuild some areas, and create a lot of new projects.

But, as the Philippines is already hosting, they should make the best of it. Meaning, at least win the overall championship. As host countries try to do so, everytime they host.

Malaysia hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1998. Malaysia's turn to host the SEA Games was in 1999 but gave the opportunity to Brunei to host it for the first time in line with the ASEAN spirit.

Brunei hosted the SEA Games with their own money but not so many of their own people. Many of them were Malaysians who gave their expertise to run the games, which was evident from the SEA Games opening and closing speeches from the Brunei SEA Games Organizing Committee Chairman.

As far as the current SEA Games go, it's unfortunate that the SEA Games come to the Philippines at this time where the situation there is somewhat not condusive to these sort of events.

But as long as the security is in tact, that's an achievement enough for the Philippines. Some of the countries were even worried to send their athletes there last month.

[NewYork2016]

Thanks for specifying the 1998 Commonwealth Games. I wasn't sure about the year but it was the main reason why Malaysia opted out to host in 1999.

I really think it is an achievement the Philippines pulled it off at least up to this point. With the situation the country is in, the 23rd SEA Games OC found a hard time to look for sponsors. It was early this year that even the operating budget wasn't even half of what is needed. It was in the middle of this year when most of it was finally settled.

By the way, here's the latest Medal Tally

23rd SEA Games Medal Summary

(Unofficial as of 2:00AM Nov.30)  

COUNTRY G S B TOTAL

PHILIPPINES 41 22 28 91

VIETNAM 22 23 30 75

THAILAND 20 30 33 83

MALAYSIA 18 13 20 51

INDONESIA 10 17 26 53

SINGAPORE 10 11 16 37

MYANMAR 6 8 9 23

BRUNEI 0 2 2 4

LAOS 0 1 3 4

CAMBODIA 0 0 2 2

TIMOR LESTE 0 0 0 0

TOTAL 127 127 169 423

I'm getting really annoyed now as it's already past 12nn Wednesday  Manila Time and we still haven't gotten results for events held yesterday, November 29 Tuesday from their official website...  

At least I'm getting some news from the Philippine Newspapers, www.inq7.net, www.philstar.com, www.mb.com.ph, www.abs-cbnnews.com. But they're still slow!