Final dates for Vietnam SEA Games announced

Performers from Vietnam participate in the closing ceremony of the Southeast Asian Games in 2019. —AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi will be played from May 12 to 23 2022, the Vietnam Olympic Committee announced Friday.

Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said majority of the Philippine delegation for the Games will leave for Vietnam a few days before the opening ceremonies so that they could get a better feel of Hanoi.

“The main bulk of the delegation will be leaving for Vietnam no less than a week before the opening ceremony,” said Tolentino. “This is because our athletes need to acclimatize and get the feel of the competition venues, environment and weather.”

The 31st SEA Games will have a different schedule from the previous iterations of the multi-sport tiff which were usually played in the cooler months of the Southeast Asian region.

Vietnam first hosted the SEA Games in 2003 in December with temperatures going to as low as 11 degrees in the evening.

May weather in Hanoi, however, can get to a toasty 34 degrees, which is similar to summer temperatures in the Philippines.

According to Channel News Asia, Hanoi has allocated a budget of $69 million for the Games which is expected to attract close to 20,000 participants including 7,000 athletes from the 11 countries of the region.

“With the dates set, our athletes, through their national sports associations, could now specifically program their training and peak at the right time in May,” said Tolentino.

The Philippines will send 626 athletes to Hanoi to compete in 39 of the 40 sports.