The event featured the participation of Politburo member and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien, along with thousands of coaches and athletes of Vietnamese sports.
In his remarks, Minister Thien, head of the SEA Games 2021’s organising committee, emphasised that in the context of continuously coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam pledges its utmost efforts to prepare for and successfully organise the Games, thus demonstrating solidarity, friendship and mutual understanding between ASEAN member nations.
The official website of 31st SEA Games and 11th ASEAN Para Games, hanoi2021.com, was announced at the ceremony. Accordingly, all the official information about the two Games, hosting venues and competition schedules will be published on the website.
Saola, the mascot of the 31st SEA Games and 11th ASEAN Para Games, debuts at the kick-off ceremony.
Saola, the official mascot of the Games, also debuted at the event.
After performing the ritual to start the countdown to the largest regional sporting event, delegates and athletes ran together around Hoan Kiem Lake in response to the 31st SEA Games.
Delegates and athletes run in response to the 31st SEA Games.
The 31st SEA Games will take place from November 21 to December 2, 2021, in Hanoi and a number of adjacent localities. It is expected to feature more than 520 categories across 40 sports, as announced at the second virtual meeting of the Southeast Asian Games Federation Council on November 19-20.
