Nations participating 10 Events 233 in 21 sports Closing ceremony 15 August 1999 | Athletes participating 2365 Opening ceremony 7 August 1999 | |
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Officially opened by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
Sultan of Brunei | ||
The 1999 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 20th Southeast Asian Games (Malay: Sukan Asia Tenggara 1999) was a multi-sports event held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam from 7 to 15 August 1999 with 233 in 21 sports featured in the games. It was the first time that the country hosted the biennial meet and also in Borneo island. It was officially opened by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah at the National Sports Complex named after him, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium. The games is the last Southeast Asian Games in the 20th century and the last in the 2nd Millennium.
Contents
- Development and preparation
- Venues
- Logo and mascot
- Songs
- Sponsors
- Opening ceremony
- Closing ceremony
- Medal table
- References
Brunei is the seventh country to host the Southeast Asian Games after Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The final medal tally was led by Thailand, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia with host Brunei in seventh place. Several World, Asian, Games and National Records were broken during the games. With little or no controversies at all, the games were deemed generally successful with the rising standard of competition amongst the Southeast Asian nations.
Development and preparation
The 20th SEA Games Organising Committee was formed to oversee the staging of the games.
Venues
The 1999 Southeast Asian Games used a mix of new, existing and temporary venues. Some major retrofitting work were done in most venues to host the multi-sport event.
At the centrepiece of the activities was the Hassanal Bolkiah Sports Complex which was completed in September 1983. Incorporating the 28,000-seat national stadium, it hosted most of the events. As Brunei have limited sports facilities, only 21 sports were held in the country.
A games village was not built. Instead, a "village in the city" concept saw athletes and officials housed in were housed in service apartment and hotels respectively across Brunei, with the former served as the games village for the athletes. Besides being physically near to the Hassanal Bolkiah Sports Complex, it was hoped that it will add vibe to the city and reduce post-games costs in converting a dedicated games village to other uses.
The 20th Southeast Asian Games had 22 venues for the games.
Logo and mascot
The logo of the 1999 Southeast Asian Games is an image of a stylized torch, a symbol of the sporting tradition of the Games which represents vitality, sportsmanship and tradition. Its modernity reflects the youthful vigor of the Southeast Asian Games, while its simplicity and attractiveness make it easily adaptable for use in a wide variety of publicity materials. The logo is colored in lively red, yellow and green to symbolise the vitality goodwill, colour and excitement of an event that will bring the nations of Southeast Asia together. A closer look at the flames will reveal the number 20, which is cleverly hidden and which signifies the 20th Southeast Asian Games. Supporting the flames is the torch which is made up of to '9's signifying the year 1999. The ten interlinked gold rings, the logo of the Southeast Asian Games Federation represents the participating nations of the Southeast Asian Games, and the Southeast Asian Games itself. The gold colour of the logo represents quality, achievement and victory. The games' logo is the first logo in Southeast Asian Games history to use the 10-ring chain which last until the 2011 games.
The logo of the 1999 Southeast Asian Games is a Malay child named, Awang Budiman. His traditionally Malay attire uses the colours of the Brunei Darussalam flag which embodies the traditional cultural identity of the Sultanate. He holds a Brunei Flag which is a symbol of welcoming visitors to Brunei Darussalam. Awang Budiman himself also represents energy, joy and faith in the future, as Southeast Asia prepares to enter into the next millennium. At the same time, the first name Awang is a specific name of a man in the host country Brunei Darussalam, while the last name Budiman encapsulates all the attributes of Brunei as a gracious host of the games in which it is open, hospitable, courteous and wise.
Songs
A song album of the games was released during the games which contains songs written by His Royal Highness Prince Sufri Bolkiah. These include the theme song of the games: "Mencari Kejayaan" (In search for success) which was composed by Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah and was sung by Ak Mohd Yusri. The other songs are "Here We Meet", "Selamat Datang" (Welcome), "Tekad Kemenangan" (Determined to win), "Skuad Negara" (National Squad) and "Till We Meet Again".
Sponsors
A total of 9 sponsors sponsored the games.
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony began at 20:00 BST with the arrival of guests, Very Important Persons and His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, The President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council and Chairman of the 20th SEA Games Organising Committee into the stadium, the marching performance by the Royal Brunei Armed Forces and the Royal Brunei Police Force and the stage performance by local artists including Ak Mohd Yusri who performed the games' theme song, Mencari Kejayaan.
At 20:30 BST, His Majesty Paduka Sri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Muizaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Dipertuan of Brunei Darussalam, Her Majesty Paduka Seri Baginda Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha and the members of the royal family arrived at the stadium. The armed forces bringing in the National Flag of Brunei and the National Anthem of Brunei was played as the National Flag of Brunei was raised. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah then inspected of the guards of honour of the Armed Forces.
Later, the march past by 50 flag bearers of the SEA Games flags and Mascot started, followed by 100 flag bearers carrying the flags of all participating nations. The contingents of each country also paraded into the stadium began with the Cambodia contingent. The host Contingent, Brunei led by His Royal Highness The Crown Prince Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, His Royal Highness Prince Abdul Mateen, Her Royal Highness Princess Azemah Ni'Matul Bolkiah and Her Royal Highness Princess Fadzillah Lubabul Bolkiah, received the warmest welcome when they marched into the stadium.
After that, His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah delivered his Welcoming speech and the games was then declared opened by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Fathan and Ernie then performed the song Selamat Datang. Later, the Royal Armed Force personnel then marched into the stadium taking the games flag with them and raised them beside the Brunei National Flag. The 20th SEA Games cauldron was then lit by Dayang Umi Kalthum binti Haji Karim, Brunei's Gold Medalist in Pencak Silat event at the 17th SEA Games in Singapore. The reading of the SEA Games oath was led by the 15th SEA Games Gold Medalist in Shooting event, Lieutenant Colonel Dato Setia Haji Md Samid bin Haji Abdul Aziz. The ceremony concluded with field performance presented by paratroopers, five-thousand students of Brunei and three hundred Brunei Shell Employees.
Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony began at 20:00 BST with the arrival of His Royal Highness The Crown Prince at the Stadium alongside Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Bendahara Seri Maharaja Permaisuara Pengiran Muda Haji Sufri Bolkiah, President of the National Olympic Council of Brunei Darussalam and the Chairman of the 20th SEA Games Organising Committee. Also presented were other members of the Royal family.
After that, a video clip on the highlights of the 20th SEA Games was broadcast, followed by the Games Mascot performance which portrayed the images of some of the sports events during the nine days sport meet, the parade of athletes competed at the games with Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Duli Pengiran Muda Abdul Mateen, Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Duli Pengiran Anak Puteri Azeemah Niqmatul Bolkiah and Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Puteri Fadzillah Lubabul Bolkiah leading the Brunei contingent by order of sports. A song presentation entitled "Skuad Negara" composed by Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Bendahara Seri Maharaja Permaisuara Pengiran Muda Haji Sufri Bolkiah was performed by a Bruneian choir group. Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Bendahara Seri Maharaja Permaisuara Pengiran Muda Haji Sufri Bolkiah, President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council and the Chairman of the 20th SEA Games Organising Committee then gave his speech. Later, his Royal Highness The Crown Prince Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah declared the games closed.
The cauldron was later extinguished with Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Bendahara Seri Maharaja Permaisuara Pengiran Muda Haji Sufri Bolkiah, President of the National Olympic Council of Brunei Darussalam and the Chairman of the 20th SEA Games Organising Committee, handed over the SEA Games Flag to the Malaysian representative, Tunku Emran Tuanku Jaafar, President of the Malaysia Olympic Council, represented the SEA Games responsibilities being handed over to Malaysia, host of the 2001 Southeast Asian Games.
The national anthem of Malaysia was played as the National Flag of Malaysia was raised. Later, a Malaysia segment performance, "Gemilang Malaysia" was performed by members of the Sabah Cultural Board and the Sarawak Cultural Village as well as 60 students from the Bandaraya Kuching Secondary School which formed the Malaysian cultural group. The ceremony concluded with a stage performance performed by Bruneian artists.
Medal table
A total of 778 medals comprising 233 Gold medals, 233 Silver medals and 312 Bronze medals were awarded to athletes, the Host Brunei's performance was their best ever yet and was placed seventh overall amongst participating nations.
* Host nation (Brunei)