The

2017 Southeast Asian Games Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanes ...

opening ceremony was held in Bukit Jalil National Stadium on 19 August 2017 at 20:17

MST The Master of Studies or Master in Studies (M.St. or MSt; ) is a postgraduate degree at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of St Andrews, the Australian National University, University of Dublin and the University of Ne ...

( UTC+8) which highlighted aspects of Malaysia's history and culture. The ceremony was directed by film director Saw Teong Hin alongside the Memories Entertainment creative team with co-operation from the

Malaysian Armed Forces The Malaysian Armed Forces (: MAF; ms, Angkatan Tentera Malaysia; Jawi: ), are the armed forces of Malaysia, consists of three branches; the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The number of MAF active pers ...

. The time 20:17 was chosen to start the opening ceremony to mark the year 2017, the year which Malaysia hosted the 29th Southeast Asian Games.

Proceedings

Welcome, national flag and anthem

The opening ceremony begin with the arrival of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, Sultan Muhammad V. Flag of Malaysia was raised of the Malaysia national anthem, Negaraku was instrumental by

band.

Countdown

This was followed by the footage of few Malaysians of different ages and races paint their face with the colours of the games logo and a ten-to-one countdown of the large screens counted down from 10 to 1 after the playing of the national anthem, the word "Selamat Datang" (Welcome) was projected onto the seats of the stadium with fireworks being released around the stadium to mark the beginning of the ceremony.

Main event

Preface

320 Malaysian flags, along with the national flags of the participating nations, the Southeast Asian Games Federation flag and the edition flag, were brought into the stadium to symbolise the welcoming of the participants by Malaysia's 32 million population while Monoloque and Azlan Typewriter performed "Tunjuk Belang" on the stage. "Rimau", the mascot of the Games then entered the stadium after a video footage made by computer graphics showing a tiger running across Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya from the National Stadium, passing through landmarks such as Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur Tower, Telekom Tower, Sultan Abdul Samad Building and the Putrajaya Bridge.

Parade of Nations

As per Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) protocol, the parade of athletes from all 11 competing nations started with Brunei leading the field in English alphabetical order and ended with the host nation, Malaysia entering the stadium last. When the athletes entering the stadium, the name and the flag of their participating nations were projected onto the seats of the stadium. The parade concluded with the performance of the song "Bangkit Bersama" by Sarawakian singer Dayang Nurfaizah. The 1980 Malaysian footballers James Wong, Santokh Singh and

Shukor Salleh Dato' Abdul Shukor bin Salleh (born 4 December 1948) was a key midfield player for the Malaysia national football team during the 1970s. He was often called the "Mr.Cool" and "Malaysia Ardiles" of the Malaysian national team for the way he ste ...

led the former athletes who carried the Games Federation flag and the games edition flag into the stadium which were raised by Malaysian Army Personnel. The Federation flag was carried by Shalin Zulkifli, Ramachandran Munusamy,

Nurul Huda Abdullah Nurul Huda Abdullah, also known as Ch'ng Su-Lin, (born 31 July 1972) is a former Malaysian competitive swimmer. She holds the record of the most number of gold medals won at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) for a Malaysian athlete, with ...

, Rabuan Pit, Sharon Low Su Lin, Rashid Sidek, Zaiton Othman and Jeffrey Ong Kuan Seng, while the Games Edition Flag was carried by Shanti Govindasamy, Shahrulneeza Razali, Elaine Teo Shueh Fern,

Nur Herman Majid Nur Herman Majid (born 2 August 1969) is a retired Malaysian who specialised in the sprint hurdles. He represented his country at the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as two indoor and one outdoor World Championships. In addition he won multiple medal ...

, Norsham Yoon, R. Jaganathan, Choo Yih Hwa and Nasri Nasir.

Speeches and protocols

In keeping with tradition, welcoming speeches were given by the President of the Southeast Asian Games Federation Tunku Imran and Malaysia's Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. After that, the Games were officially declared open by the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, Sultan Muhammad V. Later, Malaysian high jumper

Nauraj Singh Randhawa Nauraj Singh Randhawa ( pa, ਨੌਰਾਜ ਸਿੰਘ ਰੰਧਾਵਾ (Nauraja sigha radhāvā); born 27 January 1992) is a Malaysian athlete, specialising in the high jump. Athletics career He won the gold medal in the 2013 and 2015 South ...

was given the honour of taking the oath of sportsmanship on behalf of the athletes whilst Vice-President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Tan Sri Omardin read out the oath behalf of Games officials.

Main performances

A 20-minutes showcase of Malaysia's cultural diversity that came in four segments, "Provenance", "Similarities in Diversity", "Together We are Stronger", and "A Nation Built on Inclusion", told the story of the origins of Malaysian inhabitants, celebrated the differences of people across the country and the region, emphasised the importance of strength and endurance while the conclusion featured people coming together with differences and similarities on full display. Singer Mia Palencia performed the song "So Many Hands", one of the three theme songs of the Games. A total of 6,000 people were involved in the showcase consisting of performers, volunteers, children and members of the armed forces.

Torch lighting

A video about the nationwide torch relay held months after the region's baton relay and months before the games was shown. After that, the torch of the Games was carried into the stadium by five group of Malaysia's former and current generation of sportsmen and sportswomen, each with three person: 1 former sportsman and 2 current sportsmen. The torch bearers are: Siti Safiyah, Kenny Ang and Muhammad Rafiq Ismail of bowling, Mohd Shah Firdaus, Ng Joo Ngan and Fatehah Mustapa of cycling, Mohd Faizal Shaari, Mirnawan Nawawi and Hanis Nadihah Onn of Hockey, Khairul Hafiz Jantan, Mohd Zaki Sadri and Khirtana Ramasamy of athletics, Chan Peng Soon, Razif Sidek and Goh Jin Wei of Badminton.

Bryan Nickson Lomas Bryan Nickson Lomas (born 30 June 1990 in Kuching, Sarawak) is a former Malaysian diver. Lomas was the youngest Malaysian athlete to qualify for 2004 Summer Olympics when he was 14. He became the country's first world junior diving champion af ...

and Pandelela Rinong of Diving passed the torch to rising diving star Nur Dhabitah Sabri, who then was suspended by wires and at a distance, she lit the cauldron afterwards. The cauldron's design was inspired by the traditional Malaysian oil torches used to welcome guests during festivals, and was to symbolise national unity. It had five spokes inscribed with the Rukun Negara and the colour gold served to honour Malaysia's monarch, as well as a nod to the highest award at the biennial games. A colourful fireworks display then erupted over the National Stadium, signalling the official commencement of the Games. The opening ceremony ended with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong leaving the stadium and Malaysia national anthem, Negaraku was instrumental by

band for the second time.

Performers

* Monoloque and Azlan Typewriter - * Dayang Nurfaizah - " * Mia Palencia -

Anthems

- Negaraku, Malaysian National Anthem (Instrumental)

Notable guests

* Muhammad V of Kelantan, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia * Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia *

Najib Razak Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malaysi ...

, Prime Minister of Malaysia * Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia * Rosmah Mansor, Spouse of the Prime Minister of Malaysia * Tunku Imran, President of Olympic Council of Malaysia

References

{{Southeast Asian Games ceremonies

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.