Phnom Penh, Cambodia, January 25, 2023: Cambodia provided a glimpse of what’s to come at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in May as the organising committee held a vibrant and festive 100-day countdown ceremony on Wednesday evening.
In the grounds of the spectacular new Morodok Techo National Stadium, as a sliver of moon brightened up an inky night sky, Cambodia combined ancient culture and traditions with modern dance and song to generate a spirit of unity and camaraderie among the 11 countries in attendance.
The stage is now set for Cambodia’s historic first hosting of the SEA Games from May 5-17 and the chance for the “Kingdom of Wonder” to reveal a new, youthful identity.
The 100-day countdown was officiated by Deputy Prime Minister Tea Banh, Minister of National Defence and Chairman of the organising committee CAMSOC.
“Cambodia has waited for 64 years before choosing 2023 as the year to host the SEA Games,” he told the audience, which included the 11 Chef de Missions of the competing countries.
“As the host, Cambodia has always firmly adhered to the principles of cooperation, peaceful co-existence and equality, and serving mutual interests with goodwill to build a common destiny of peace, security and development in the region.
“I would like to call on the Cambodian people to properly and beautifully decorate your respective houses, community, city and our nation as a whole with green scenery and cleanliness to create a strong impression of the ‘Visit Cambodia in 2023’ campaign and to provide first-class hospitality - characteristic of people in a truly advanced civilization.”
As well as the high-energy performances of ancient war with shields and spears, acrobatic taekwondo, swishy Latin dance and modern breakdancing, the 100-day countdown ceremony also included a fashion show to reveal the uniforms of volunteers, technical officials and other support staff, as well as the various colours of the uniforms to be worn by each of the 11 NOCs during the torch run, which will be lit on March 21 at Angkor Wat and travel throughout the SEA region.
At the end of the ceremony, the 11 Chef de Missions received souvenir mascots and other gifts from the Deputy Prime Minister as the sky lit up with a bright and booming firework display.
The 11 nations competing in the 32nd SEA Games are Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and the host nation Cambodia.
