28th Southeast Asian Games conclude in Singapore

After 12 days of competition among 36 sports, the 28th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) lowered the curtain here on Tuesday with Singapore's President Tony Tan Keng Yam declaring the games "closed".

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Singapore's Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin, also President of the Southeast Asian Games Federation, said that these games will be a memorable one, as it was made special by the athletes on the stage, the officials and volunteers behind the scenes, and all the spectators.

The themes of the closing ceremony are "Celebration" and "Friendship". "Our athletes inspire us not just with their records and medals, but also with spirit," Minister Tan said. [ Tan added that he saw the spirit of "friendship first and competition second" by citing athletes including Ashley Liew from Singapore, who paused to wait for other runners when they took the wrong turn in the marathon.

Both Minister Tan and Lawrence Wong, Singapore's Minister for Culture, Community and Youth as well as Chairman of the 28th SEA Games Steering Committee, thanked the 17,000 volunteers for their contribution at the Games include community engagement, crowd control, media relations, logistics, medical services and workforce management.

The closing ceremony also saw the SEA Games federation flag being handed over to Malaysia, which will host the next edition of the biennial event in 2017. Enditem