It’s official: Kuching to host Sea Games opening ceremony

KUCHING: The city of Kuching will host the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games opening ceremony in 2027.

Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development Minister, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, said its selection was confirmed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Sarawak has also been given the choice to choose half of the 36 sports events that will be contested.

“We have been instructed to choose half of these sports events under the direction of the ministry. However, this is not the final decision as we understand that other states have also requested to host certain events in their areas.

“But what is certain is that the opening ceremony will be held in Kuching, and most of the sports events in Sarawak during the games will also be held in Kuching,” he told reporters here Monday (Sept 2).

Abdul Karim noted that there have been suggestions to hold some events in other parts of Sarawak.

He explained that this matter will be reviewed, particularly considering the availability of facilities since the Sea Games is prestigious and involves international participants.

“For that reason, we will discuss this again with Kuala Lumpur because this is an international event, not just a national or state-level one. I do not want to make any decisions on my own.

“It needs to be discussed, whether we can organise events in areas like Sibu, Sri Aman, or Samarahan, but the main consideration will be the facilities available there,” he said.

He revealed that there have been requests from other states for Sarawak to consider sharing some of the sports events with them.

“In fact, the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Sabah has approached us with a delegation to request that Sarawak share some of the sports events with them. We are open to this.

“I am open to it, whether we host 18 sports in Sarawak or 14 or 10 sports, we still want to host it, and we can share the hosting responsibilities,” he said.