The opening ceremony of the 32nd SEA Games took place at 19 pm on 5/5 at Morodok Tech Stadium (Phnom Penh capital), opening the largest sports festival in Southeast Asia, with the participation of delegations sports in 11 countries in the region.
Before the opening ceremony, Mr. Vath Chamroeun – General Secretary of the National Organizing Committee of the SEA Games 2023 of Cambodia affirmed: “In the SEA Games, there are two very successful points. First, the opening and closing ceremony, especially the ceremony. The opening ceremony must be made very grandiose, must meet world Olympic standards, not regional level. Second is the technique, the standard venue is well organized, the match goes smoothly.” . Cambodia shows that they have completely succeeded in the first element.
Pictures from the opening ceremony of the 32nd SEA Games. (Photo: VTC Cab)
The opening ceremony of SEA Games 32 consists of 3 chapters, “The splendor of Angkor”; “Khmer smile”; “The Future of the Khmer”. Unlike the previous SEA Games, the organizers limited the disclosure of information about the performances, heightening the audience’s curiosity.
Chapter 1: “The splendor of Angkor” recreates the formation of Cambodia in a magnanimous and proud manner, imbued with epic character. There, it is possible to see the culture of this country bearing the imprint of religions imported from India, especially Hinduism and Buddhism. Using lighting effects, the opening ceremony stage introduced a series of magnificent architectural works representing this country, in addition to the traditional beauties of important festivals. It is the Apsara dance, with beautiful girls, showing slow but very gentle and elegant movements; Shadow puppetry is the art of shadow puppetry – the oldest performance genre in Cambodia, consisting of skin puppets that are lit from the back, often by burning coconut shells and projected onto a white screen.
Performance in chapter 1: “The splendor of Angkor” at the opening ceremony of the 32nd SEA Games. (Photo: VTVcab)
Chapter 2 is titled “Khmer Smile”, opening with the image of a teacher and children – the future generation of the country. Next, the opening ceremony stage appeared with many different scenes, symbolizing a peaceful, young and developing Cambodia. The end of the chapter is the pounding of rice by dozens of artists, introducing the typical agricultural products of this country (According to statistics, Cambodia is currently the eighth largest rice exporter in the world).
Chapter 2: “Khmer smile” opens with the image of a teacher and children, showing a young and dynamic Cambodia. (Photo: VTVCab)
The scene of Cambodians working and living is reproduced on the stage. (Photo: VTVCab)
Chapter 3: “The Future of the Khmer” opens with the appearance of hundreds of drummers. Among the drummers, dancers perform various dances such as dancesport, martial arts or artistic gymnastics. The 3D mapping dance with laser effects with hundreds of participating artists showed a modern, integrated Cambodia.
Light effects were used flexibly during the opening ceremony of the 32nd SEA Games. (Photo: VTV Cab)
After three performances lasting about 60 minutes, the song “Cambodian Pride” – the official song of the 32nd SEA Games played with the participation of 5 Cambodian artists and an ensemble. choir of more than 2,000 people. This song was released on April 10 and has now reached more than 60 million views on YouTube. This is also the SEA Games official song with the largest views in history.
5 Cambodian artists perform the official song of the 32nd SEA Games. (Photo: VTVCab)
The opening ceremony of the 32nd SEA Games received many compliments on social networks. Southeast Asian audiences all expressed their admiration and admiration for the preparation of the host Cambodia. Many commentators rate this event on par with the opening ceremonies of major Olympic and Asian Games in the world. Account Ayneong Bada wrote: “Immensely cultural, this is a continental cultural event”; audience Kypon Nutt shared: “I was surprised at the way Cambodia showcased their culture”.
The 32nd SEA Games took place in 5 cities in Cambodia, from April 29 to May 16, with 584 contents in 36 subjects. The congress gathered about 12,000 members from 11 delegations, not including the referees.
