History of SEA Games

The Southeast Asian Games owes its origins to the Southeast Asian Peninsular  Games or SEAP Games. On 22 May, 1958, delegates from the countries in Southeast Asian Peninsula attending the 3rd Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan had a meeting and agreed to establish a sport organization. The SEAP Games was conceptualized by Laung Sukhumnaipradit, then Vice-President of the Thailand Olympic Committee. The proposed rationale was that a regional sports event will help promote cooperation, understanding and relations among countries in the Southeast Asian Peninsula region. Thailand, Burma (now Myanmar), Malaya (now Malaysia), Laos, South Vietnam (now Vietnam) and Cambodia were the founding members. These countries agreed to hold the Games biannually. The SEAP Games Federation Committee was formed.

The first SEAP Games were held in Bangkok from 12-17 December, 1959 comprising more than 527 athletes and officials from Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Cambodia, South Vietnam and Laos participating in 12 sports. At the 8th SEAP Games in 1975, the SEAP Federation considered the inclusion of Indonesia and the Philippines. The two countries were formally
admitted in 1977, the same year when SEAP Federation changed their name to Southeast  Asian Games Federation (SEAGF), and the games were known as the Southeast Asian Games. Brunei was admitted at the 9th SEA Games in Kualalumper, Malaysia, and East Timor at the 22nd SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The 23rd SEA Games held in the Philippines, which started from 27 November and ended on 5 December 2005, hosting the biennial event for the third time


Southeast Asian Peninsular Games (SEAP Games)

Order

Period

Years

Host city

Country

I

12-17 December

1959

Bangkok

Thailand

II

11-16 December

1961

Rangoon

Burma

III

14-24 December

1965

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

IV

09-16 December

1967

Bangkok

Thailand

V

06-13 December

1969

Rangoon

Burma

VI

11-18 December

1971

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

VII

01-08 September

1973

Singapore

VIII

09-16 December

1975

Bangkok

Thailand


Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games)

Order

Period

Years

Host city

Country

IX

19-26 November

1977

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

X

21-30 September

1979

Jakarta

Indonesia

XI

06-15 December

1981

Manila

Philippines

XII

26 May – 6 June

1983

Singapore

Singapore

XIII

08-17 December

1985

Bangkok

Thailand

XIV

09-20 December

1987

Jakarta

Indonesia

XV

20-31 August

1989

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

XVI

24 November – 5 December

1991

Manila

Philippines

XVII

12-20 July

1993

Singapore

Singapore

XVIII

09-17 December

1995

Chiang Mai

Thailand

XIX

11-20 October

1997

Jakarta

Indonesia

XX

07-15 August

1999

Bandar Seri Begawan

Brunei

XXI

08-17 September

2001

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

XXII

05-13 December

2003

Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam

XXIII

27 November – 05 December

2005

Manila among others

Philippines

XXIV

06-15 December

2007

Nakhon Ratchasima

Thailand

XXV

9-18 December

2009

Vientiane

Laos

XXVI

11-22 November

2011

Palembang and Jakarta

Indonesia

XXVII

11-12 December

2013

Naypyitaw, Yangon, Mandaly and   Ngwe Saung

Myanmar

XXVIII

05-16 June

2015

 Singapore

Singapore

XXIX

To Be confirm

2017

Malaysia


Participant Countries

IOC Code

Nation / IOC designation

Debuted

ISO-code

BRU

Brunei (Brunei Darussalam)

1977

BRN

CAM

Cambodia

1959

KHM

INA

Indonesia

1977

IDN

LAO

Lao P.D.R

1959

LAO

MAS

Malaysia

1959

MYS

MYA

Myanmar

1959

MMR

PHI

Philippines

1977

PHL

SIN

Singapore

1959

SGP

THA

Thailand

1965

THA

TLS

Timor-Leste

2003

TLS

VIE

Vietnam

1959

VIE