Kuala Lumpur ready for 2017 SEA Games – officials

MANILA, Philippines – With only a month to go before the 29th Southeast Asian Games, Mayor Datuk Seri Mohd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz said Kuala Lumpur’s preparations are nearly complete.

The 2017 SEA Games – which is set to happen from August 19 to 31 – will be attended by thousands of athletes, officials, media, and visitors from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

“We are almost complete in our preparation,” said Amin Nordin in a report by The Star last Tuesday, July 25. “We have prepared about 40 hotels for the event.”

More than 4,000 volunteers were reportedly recruited by the Volunteer for Kuala Lumpur group to help with the preparations, which included cleanups and painting work.

Kuala Lumpur Sports City – the beefed up version of the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex – and other venues to be used for the biennial multi-sport event are also ready.

“Given the facilities are now compliant with the latest standards of [world track and field body] IAAF, [world soccer body] FIFA, [world hockey body] FIH, and [world aquatics body] FINA, Malaysia is now ready to host the next era of world-class sports competitions as well as showcase national and international non-sporting events,” S. Nalgunalingam told the press including The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The Bukit Jalil can accomodate 87,000 people and is considered as the largest stadium in Southeast Asia. It was the home of several major events, including the 1998 Commonwealth Games, the 2007 Asian Cup (soccer), and exhibition matches featuring Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea. – Rappler.com