2021 Southeast Asian Games
The 2021 Southeast Asian Games (), commonly known as the 31st SEA Games or SEA Games 31, will be the 31st edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial regional multi-sport event which will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2022. Originally scheduled to take place from 21 November to 2 December 2021, it was moved to 12 to 23 May 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will feature 40 sports, mainly those played at the Olympic Games.This is the second time Vietnam will hold the SEA Games since 2003. Host selection . Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City both submitted their bid to host the games. While Ho Chi Minh City was the initially favored city, Hanoi is deemed to be the prioritized location due to its existing sporting facilities. This came after the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng ordered provinces and cities to not build new facilities for sporting events so as to cut costs, following the country's withdrawal from hosting the 2018 Asian Games citing financial restraints. Hanoi. According to Hanoi's proposal submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), the city would spend 1.7  trillion VND ($77 million) on preparing and organizing the 2-week Games running from late November to December. 97 billion VND ($4.3 million) is expected to be earned back from broadcast rights, advertisements, sponsors and other contributions. Ho Chi Minh City. In December 2017, Ho Chi Minh City Municipal Standing Committee of the Communist Party approved of the city's hosting proposal. According to the proposal, the direct cost for hosting the Games in the city is estimated to be 7.48 trillion VND ($330 million) with 6.6 trillion VND (US$290 million) to be spent on upgrading  sports facilities and 904 billion VND ($40 million) on organizing costs. However, another 8.2 trillion VND ($360 million) is needed for the construction of Rach Chiec Sports Complex while an athletes' village will not be built. The Games would run for 12 days in mid August and see 30-36 sports being contested. The provinces of Đồng Nai and Bình Dương would also host a portion of Games. Decision. On 9 July 2018, the Vietnamese government selected Hanoi as the host of the 31st SEA Games and the 2021 ASEAN Para Games. On 13 November 2019, Vietnamese Prime  Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc signed a decision approving Hanoi hosting the Games. Despite the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics in July 2021, the games would still be held from late November to early December 2021 three months after the rescheduled Olympics. The 11th ASEAN Para Games would also be held from 17 to 23 December 2021. Vietnam Television and Voice of Vietnam were appointed as the host broadcaster. Postponement. Originally scheduled to be held from 21 November to 2 December 2021, the 2021 Southeast Asian Games was postponed to 12 to 23 May 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Preparation. Vietnam's SEA Games Organizing Committee (SEAGOC) was formed in April 2020 with authority to prepare, submit and execute plans to stage the Games. Budget. The proposed budget allocated by the Vietnamese government for this edition of SEA Games was initially estimated to be 1.6 trillion VND (US$69.3 million). 980.3 billion VND (US$42.3 million) would be used for organizing costs while 602.3 billion VND (US$25.9 million) would be allocated for upgrades and repairs to facilities managed by MCST. Provincial authorities are responsible for renovations to facilities under their management. Other than a new cycling track in  Hòa Bình Province and a small tennis complex on Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Centre campus (handled by Hanoi People's Committee), no other sporting venue would be constructed for the edition. Organization revenue is expected to be 226.6 billion VND (US$9.7 million), with 136.6 billion VND coming from the delegates' accommodation fees and 65 billion VND from broadcast rights. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam's budget for the Games was cut. In January 2022, the Vietnamese government approved an organizing budget of 750 billion VND (US$32.8 million) for the Games. On April 1, 2022, the Vietnamese  government approved an additional budget of 449 billion VND (US$19.65 million) for the Games. The money is taken from the national budget for sports and physical training in 2022. Four ministries and central agencies will be provided 378.3 billion VND, while Hanoi and 11 other provinces will receive an additional 70.7 billion VND. Venues. While Hanoi will be the main hub, several other surrounding provinces will also assist in hosting portions of the games. An athletes' village will not be built, athletes and officials will be housed in hotels near their competition venues. In the initial plan, a new  tennis complex was planned to be built on Hanoi Sports Training and Competition Centre campus and a newly rebuilt Hàng Đẫy Stadium will host a group for men's football. Both of these projects faced development delays and difficulties and could no longer be completed on time for the games. Consequently, the venue of tennis was relocated to newly built private venue in Bắc Ninh Province, and Việt Trì Stadium would host a men's football group alongside Thiên Trường Stadium during the group stage. Volunteers. The organizing committee planned to recruit around 3000 volunteers for the Games with 2000  of them based in Hanoi. In February 2022, SEAGOC started to work with local Hanoi colleges, mainly Hanoi University and Hanoi Open University to start the process. Applicants are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Selected volunteers would receive orientation and training between March and April before being assigned to specific venues in April 2022. Torch relay. The torch relay will start 31 days prior to the opening ceremony, representing 31 editions of the Southeast Asian Games. The journey will start at Hùng Temple in Phú Thọ Province on 11 April 2022, and go through all hosting provinces before  arriving at the cauldron at Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi on 12 May 2022. Ticketing. The SEAGOC encouraged each provincial organizing committee to allow spectators to enter competition venues for free. However, the decision to release and/or charge for tickets is ultimately up to each province. So far, Hải Phòng and Quảng Ninh have expressed interests in free entry for all spectators, with the latter being the largest cluster of venues outside of Hà Nội. Meanwhile, Phú Thọ, the host for all of Vietnam's matches in men's football, has planned on selling tickets. The Games. COVID-19 regulations . Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all athletes and officials entering Vietnam are required to have a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their departure. Within 24 hours of entry and of their respective event, participants will be tested again using rapid testing. If an athlete tests positive for COVID-19, they will be quarantined at their designated facility, or transported to a hospital in severe cases. For a positive case tested before their respective event, the NOC could replace the athlete with another one. However, if a positive case turns up while the event is still ongoing , the athlete can no longer participate and their results will be invalidated. Spectators at any events will not have to show any negative test to enter. However, the amount of spectators allowed at a venue depends on the local COVID-19 situation at the time of competition. Opening ceremony. The opening ceremony will be held at 19:00 on 12 May, 2022 (local time) at Mỹ Đình National Stadium. Trần Ly Ly, famed Vietnamese choreographer and head of Vietnam's Department of Performing Arts, is the director of the ceremony. Only 31 athletes from each country will participate in the parade of  nations as a preventive COVID-19 measure. Participating nations. All 11 members of Southeast Asian Games Federation are expected to take part in the 2021 SEA Games. Below is a list of all the participating NOCs. While Thailand and Indonesia were initially barred from using their national flags due to sanctions by the World Anti-Doping Agency, the sanction was lifted on 3 February 2022. Sports. The 31st SEA Games will feature 40 sports with 526 events, mainly those played at the Olympic Games. Marketing. Official launch and branding. On 30 August 2019, Vietnam Olympic Committee launched a nationwide contest to  find the official logo, mascot, slogan, and song for both 31st SEA Games and 2021 ASEAN Para Games. The contest ran until 30 October 2019. The top 3 in each category were intended to be featured on a ballot and Vietnamese nationals could then vote for the winning creation. On 20 October 2019, a mascot named after the canine character Vàng in Nam Cao's famous short story "Lão Hạc" was awarded People's Choice Award by the organizer. On 26 October 2019, the final top 3 mascots, selected by an internal panel, were announced. These mascots took inspirations from  various Vietnamese animals: the endangered species saola, the mythical creature "con nghê", and tigers. These selected designs were met with overwhelmingly negative perception by the Vietnamese public. Many called the designs "dated", "aesthetically unpleasant" and "not representative of the Vietnamese spirit." The organizer later withdrew the announcement, stated that the designs were preliminary and they would undergo further adjustments. Consequently, the original date for announcing the winning submissions on 31 October failed to be realized. The reveal was then postponed to November 2019, and then again postponed indefinitely afterwards. On 19 November 2020, the winning entries were finally announced. No  theme song was selected from the contest. The organizing committee decided to order composer Quang Vinh, who previously penned the theme song "Vì một thế giới ngày mai" for the 22nd SEA Games in 2003, to write a new theme song for the edition. Logo. The 31st SEA Games logo was designed by Hoàng Xuân Hiếu. Hiếu's logo is inspired by the combined images of a dove and a human hand to create the "V" shape, representing "victory" and "Vietnam". This idea originates from the image of an athlete placing his hand on his left chest, singing the National  Anthem before each sacred match. In addition, the bird's wings are a symbol of extraordinary will, desire to conquer and great sportsmanship. Mascot. The mascot of the 2021 Southeast Asian Games is "Sao La", inspired by saola – a rare mammal native to central Vietnam. This design by Ngô Xuân Khôi defeated 557 other mascot submissions to emerge as the winner of the 2019 searching contest. Motto. "For a Stronger Southeast Asia" was chosen to be the motto of this edition. The motto represents Vietnam's hope, as ASEAN Chair 2020, for the region to grow stronger, and signifies the  region's strive to tackle and defeat the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia. Theme song. During the International Press Conference held on 28 February 2022, the official theme song of the 31st SEA Games was revealed. The theme song "Let's Shine", composed by Huy Tuấn, features lyrics in both English and Vietnamese. The song is performed by Tùng Dương, Hồ Ngọc Hà, Văn Mai Hương, Isaac and Đen Vâu. Sponsors. There were 4 tiers of sponsorships for the 31st SEA Games. Diamond sponsors contributed more than 10 billion VND (US$438,000) in cash or 13 billion VND (US$569,000) worth  of products or services. Platinum sponsors contributed 5-10 billion VND in cash or 8-13 billion VND worth of products or services. Gold sponsors contributed 3-5 billion VND in cash or 6-8 billion VND worth of products or services. Partner sponsors contributed under 3 billion VND in cash, or under 6 billion VND worth of products or services. Vietcontent is the main sponsorship agency of the Games.