Seagames 2007

Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony which divided into eight segments was held on 6 December 2007 at 19:00 (TST) at the 80th birthday stadium. Thai audiences clad in mostly pink and yellow as symbol of loyalty to the king, packed the stadium hours before the ceremony starts. After the Thai royal family entered the stadium, the royal anthem is first played. The ceremony began with the first segment entitled “The Amazing Great King”, a 10-minute tribute to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, then the longest reigning monarch in the world at that time. This was followed by second and third segment named “The Amazing E-Saan Wonder” and “The Amazing Glorious City” respectively, highlighting the history and culture of the Isan (northeast) region and its main city, Korat which were accompanied by a dazzling laser display and incorporated replicas of colourful ancient temples and gigantic dragon boats.

After that, the fourth segment “The Amazing Sport Ceremony” was held began with the parade of the contingents from the 11 participating nations. The Thai contingent, the largest contingent among the participating nations received the warmest welcome from the audiences when they enter the stadium. After the athletes and officials had assembled on the field, Thai Sports Minister Suvit Yodmani, the Games organising chairman, delivered his speech and the Games was then officially opened by the Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. It was followed by the Thai National Anthem when the national flag of Thailand was raised and the raising of the Games flag and the oath-taking ceremony in which Suebsak Pansueb took the oath on behalf of the athletes and Paibul Srichaisawat on behalf of the judges. Later during “The Amazing Royal Flame”, the fifth segment of the ceremony, a group of athletes passes the flame during the torch relay one after another before the Thai female weightlifter cum gold medalist at the Athens Olympics, Udomporn Polsak lit the Games cauldron.

The ceremony concludes with “The Amazing Spirit”, “The Amazing Friendship” and “The Amazing Celebrations” segments which were performed by more than 8,000 students from 35 learning institutions. The segments were held in accordance with the Games’ tagline of ‘Spirit, Friendship and Celebrations’.

Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony which was divided into seven segments was held on 15 December 2007 at 19:00 (TST) at the 80th birthday stadium and was preceded by a pre-ceremony song and dance performance entitled “A Message from the Heart”, the arrival of the Thai Prime Minister and other dignitaries. The ceremony began with a four-minute “The Creation of Spirit” segment, a musical sketch showcasing Thailand’s rich traditional culture. This was followed by “The Creation of Friendship” and “The Creation of Celebrations” segment, the two musical performances by school students who formed ‘human formations’ in the middle of the field. Later, “The Creation of Sport Ceremony” segment was held with the contingents from the 11 participating nations marched into the stadium to the folk music of respective nations as the fireworks lit up the skies.

After the athletes and officials assembled at the stadium, Thai Prime Minister Gen Surayud Chulanont gave his speech and declared the games closed. Prime Minister Surayud then entitled Swimmers Miguel Molina of the Philippines and Natthanan Junkajang of Thailand as the Most Valuable Athletes of the Games. With Thai national flag and the Games flag lowered, the SEA Games responsibility was handed over to Laos, host of the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in which the Deputy Prime Minister of Laos, Somsavat Lengsavad received the games flag as its symbol. A Laos segment performance was performed by Lao dancers with their traditional performances.

During “The Creation of Hope” segment, The flame of the cauldron was extinguished by a man dress as a Korat boy on two wheeled cart, symbolised the end of the games. The ceremony concluded with two Thai farewell segment performances namely “The Creation of Live World” and “The Creation of Happiness and Prosperity”.