A SOMBRE GAMES OPENING

But organisers hope event will bring joy to Thailand amid recent setbacks

- Melvyn Teoh

The lighting of the SEA Games torch during the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok on Dec 9. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

(ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO)

The return of the region's largest multi-sport event, the SEA Games, is typically a cause for celebration in Southeast Asia, though for Thailand, the Land of Smiles has not been smiling of late.

The hosts of the 33rd edition of the Games have been hit by a series of issues and incidents - the floods in the south, death of the Queen Mother Sirikit and ongoing border conflicts with Cambodia.

The buzz in the capital Bangkok has been muted ahead of the Dec 9-20 Games but, as King Maha Vajiralongkorn officially opened the event - which reportedly cost $456 million baht (S$18.6 million) - at the Rajamangala National Stadium on Dec 9, organisers will be hoping to bring joy to the nation and its neighbours.

The sport-loving country, which last held the Games in Korat in 2007, were also the first hosts of the SEA Games, then known as the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, in 1959.