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Speeches

Celebrating the extraordinary at the 28th SEA Games

Sectors

Sports

5 June 2015

Speech by Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, at the Opening Ceremony of the 28th SEA Games, at the National Stadium

President Tony Tan

Your Majesties

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

Your Royal Highnesses and Excellencies

Members of the IOC and SEA Games Federation

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen,

  1. Welcome to the 28th Southeast Asian Games!

  2. This is the first time that Singapore is hosting the Games in more than 20 years.

  3. And what makes it even more special is that this is also the year of our Golden Jubilee, our 50th birthday.

  4. So we’re delighted to have with us tonight so many of our friends from the region – here in the Stadium, and watching from all the countries of Southeast Asia. Warm welcome to all of you from every one of us in Singapore!

  5. The SEA Games are about fostering bonds of friendship, and strengthening our regional solidarity. We thank all our guests, from Singapore and around the region, for joining us at this special occasion.

  6. On this night, we also remember and pay tribute to Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

  7. Mr Lee played a key part in developing a sporting Singapore. He officially opened our former National Stadium in 1973, when Singapore first hosted the SEA Games then known as the SEAP Games.

  8. Tonight, we are gathered here once again, at this very same site in Kallang, but now in a different Stadium – in this new majestic Sports Hub.

  9. We will be writing a new chapter of our sporting story – it’s a story of Singapore sport, and also Southeast Asian sport.

  10. Over the next two weeks, we will watch our region’s best athletes compete.

  11. And to all our athletes, I know you’ve trained long and hard for this moment. So I wish you all the very best for the competition.

  12. All of us here, and across the region, will be cheering for you.

  13. At the same time, I hope our athletes will inspire us to keep fit and participate in sports, as Mr Lee had encouraged us to do.

  14. Ordinary folks like you and I may not be able to break national records.

  15. But we can all be extraordinary in our own ways, pushing our own limits, striving to do better, and setting new personal bests.

  16. That’s really the spirit of the Games. And that’s the reason why we’ve chosen “Celebrate the Extraordinary” as the theme for these Games.

  17. We celebrate our diversity; we celebrate our unique talents; and we celebrate the extraordinary in each and every one of us.

  18. Finally, to my fellow Singaporeans – thank you for making all this possible. 

  19. I especially want to thank our volunteers – those who’ve been working hard to make things run smoothly, and also all who are involved in the opening and closing ceremonies.

  20. You represent the best of Singapore, and we’re so proud of all of you.

  21. For us, for every Singaporean, this will always be a special moment – to host the region’s largest sporting event in the year of our Golden Jubilee. 

  22. So let’s do all that we can, to make history together, and have a truly memorable Jubilee Games for everyone. Thank you very much and enjoy the rest of the Games.

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