The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of intern ...

involving participants from the current 11 countries of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. The games are under the regulation of the

Southeast Asian Games Federation The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

with supervision by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

and the

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a sports governing body, governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was elected as President of the OCA on 8 July 2023. However, on 3 ...

. The SEA Games is one of the five subregional Games of the

, the others being

South Asian Games The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, N ...

West Asian Games The West Asian Games (abbreviated as the WAG) is a multi-sport event held among the athletes from West Asia. The West Asian Games was first organised in Tehran, Iran and was considered as the first of its kind. The success of the Games led to th ...

East Asian Games The East Asian Games was a multi-sport event organized by the East Asian Games Association and held every four years from 1993 to 2013. Among those who competed included athletes from East Asian countries and territories of the Olympic Council ...

, and

Central Asian Games The Central Asian Games is an international multi-sport event organised by the Central Asian Olympic Committee and held every two years since 1995 among athletes from Central Asian countries and territories of the Olympic Council of Asia, espec ...

History

The SEA Games owes its origins to the ''South East Asian Peninsular Games'' or ''SEAP Games'' (abbreviated as SEAPG). On 22 May 1958, delegates from the countries in Southeast Asian Peninsula attending the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

in Tokyo, Japan had a meeting and agreed to establish a sports organization. The SEAP Games was conceptualized by Luang Sukhum Nayapradit, then vice-president of the Thailand Olympic Committee. The proposed rationale was that a regional sports event will help promote co-operation, understanding, and relations among countries in the Southeast Asian region. Six countries,

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

(now

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

, Malaya (now

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with it ...

(South Vietnam) were the founding members. These countries agreed to hold the Games biennially in June 1959 and the SEAP Games Federation Committee was formed thereafter. The first SEAP Games were held in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

from 12 to 17 December 1959, with more than 527 athletes and officials from 6 countries;

(now Myanmar), Laos, Malaya,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, South Vietnam and

participated in 12 sports. At the 8th SEAP Games in 1975, while South Vietnam was fallen and no longer existed, the SEAP Federation considered the inclusion of

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. These countries were formally admitted in 1977, the same year when SEAP Federation changed their name to the ''Southeast Asian Games Federation'' (SEAGF), and the games were known as the Southeast Asian Games. The unified

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

(Socialist Republic of Vietnam) returned to the games'

15th edition In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

in 1989.

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, one year after gaining independence from Indonesia, was admitted at the 22nd SEA Games in 2003. The 2009 SEA Games was the first time Laos has ever hosted a SEA Games (Laos had previously declined to host the 1965 SEAP Games citing financial difficulties). Running from 9–18 December, it has also commemorated the 50 years of the SEA Games, held in

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

. The

2023 SEA Games The 2023 Southeast Asian Games (, UNGEGN: ''Kar Brâkuŏt Keila Brâchéachéatĕ Asi Aknéy 2023''), 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 Southe ...

, held from 5–17 May, was the first time Cambodia has ever hosted a SEA Games (Cambodia was awarded the 1963 SEAP Games, which was cancelled due to domestic political situation).

Symbol

The Southeast Asian Games symbol was introduced during the 1959 SEAP Games in Bangkok, depicting six rings that represent the six founding members and was used until the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

edition in Jakarta. The number of rings increased to 10 during the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

edition in Brunei to reflect the inclusion of Singapore, which was admitted into the Southeast Asian Games Federation in 1961, and Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines, which joined the organization in 1977. The number of rings was again increased to 11 during the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Games in Indonesia to reflect the federation's newest member, East Timor, which was admitted in 2003.

Participating NOCs

Timelines

Editions

The 1963 SEAP Games were cancelled. As the designated host,

was unable to host the event due to instability in the country, along with a disagreement with the International Amateur Athletic Federation. The 3rd SEAP Games then passed to

as hosts, but they begged off the 1965 event citing financial difficulties. In 2023, Cambodia was finally able to host the sports event for the first time at its newly built sports complex.

Sports

The SEAGF Charter and Rules mandate the minimum number of sports to be staged, with sports falling under numerous categories. Prior to 2023, a host nation must have staged a minimum of 22 sports: the two compulsory sports from Category 1 (athletics and aquatics), in addition to a minimum of 14 sports from Category 2 (Olympic and Asian Games core sports), and a maximum of 8 sports from Category 3. Each sport would not offer more than 5% of the total medal tally, except for athletics, aquatics and shooting (the shot was elevated for this category in 2013). For each sport and event to be included, a minimum of four countries must participate in it. Sports competed in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

and

must be given priority. This charter was modified in 2023, with the first games with this modification in effect will be the

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

edition. Each edition will have a minimum of 36 sports, composed as follows: the compulsory Category 1 now comprises two subcategories: 1A, which consists of aquatics and athletics, and 1B, a minimum of 10 Olympic sports from the Summer Olympic Games. Under Category 2, the host must include a minimum of 10 other sports from the Olympic Games (summer/winter), Asian Games, and Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games or Beach Games. Category 3 is now capped at a maximum of four sports.

All-time medal table

Corrected after balancing the data of the

and other archived sites which had kept the previous Southeast Asian Games medal tables. Some information from the aforementioned sites are missing, incorrect and or not updated. * * * *

List of multiple Southeast Asian Games medalists

Various individuals have won multiple medals at the Games, including the preceding Southeast Asian Peninsular Games. As of 2019, Singaporean swimmer Joscelin Yeo has won the most Southeast Asian Games medals with 55 (40 gold, 12 silver, 3 bronze). She reached this milestone during the 2005 Games, overtaking the previous record of 39 gold medals set by another Singaporean swimmer, Patricia Chan.

Criticism

One unique characteristic of the event is that there are no official limits to the number of sports and events to be contested, and the range can be decided by the organizing host pending approval by the Southeast Asian Games Federation. This has seen as many as 50 to 56 sports for the

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

editions, respectively. Aside from mandatory sports, the host is free to drop or introduce other sports or events (See SEA Games sports). This leeway has resulted in hosts maximizing their medal hauls by dropping sports disadvantageous to themselves relative to their peers and the introduction of obscure sports, often at short notice, thus preventing most other nations from building credible opponents. Several nations have called for amending the charter of the games to address the issue. In 2023, the SEA Games charter was modified in an effort to make the number of sports in each edition more standardized, reducing the host's leeway to remove several sports, maximize medal hauls by introducing obscure local sports, and tamper with the competition's rules.

References

External links

Olympic Council of Asia Regional Hosting List
*

(archived 11 January 1998)

(archived 11 October 2008)

(archived 17 December 2004)
SEA Games previous medal table
(archived 4 December 2009) * (archived 7 December 2001) {{DEFAULTSORT:Southeast Asian Games ASEAN sports events Asian international sports competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1959 Multi-sport events in Asia 1959 establishments in Asia