The 26th Southeast Asian Games will be held in Jakarta and Palembang,Indonesia in November 2011.[1] This will be the fourth time for Indonesia to host the SEA Games. Previously, Indonesia hosted the games in 1997.
The capital city of Jakarta has been the host of Southeast Asian Games for three times, namely in 1979, 1987, and 1997. Palembang will be the third SEA Games host city that is not the national capital, after Chiang Mai and Nakhon Ratchasima,Thailand.
Host cities
Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra will be the main host of the games by holding a total of 296 events,[6][7] while the nation's capital Jakarta will be the supporting co-host by staging 266 events.[8][9] As the main host, Palembang will only hold 21 of 44 sports, the rest will be held by a co-host city. Palembang will host the opening and closing ceremonies.[10]
Initially, the government had named four provinces as candidates to host the SEA Games 2011, namely Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, and South Sumatra. However this idea has been discarded and host only granted for two provinces. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonohas suggested two provinces would be enough for Indonesia to host the 26th SEA Games, to reduce operational costs and make the games easier to organize.[11]
Venues
Venues in Palembang[12
| Venues | Sports |
|---|---|
| Dempo Hall | Gymnastics (aerobic) |
| Dempo Sport Complex | Weightlifting |
| Gedung Serbaguna Jakabaring | Wrestling |
| Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium | Football |
| Jakabaring Sport Complex | Aquatics (Swimming, diving, synchronized swimming), athletics, baseball, finswimming, pétanque, roller skating, shooting, softball, tennis and soft tennis, volleyball (beach), wall climbing, water skiing |
| Jakabaring Billiard Arena | Cue sports |
| Jayakarta Hotel | Chess |
| Lumban Tirta Arena | Aquatics (water polo) |
| Ranau Gymnastic Hall | Gymnastics (artistic and rhythmic) |
| SPC Jakabaring | Sepak takraw |
| Swarna Dwipa Hotel | Bridge |
| University of Sriwijaya (Fieldhouse and Sriwijaya Sport Hall) | Boxing, volleyball (indoor) |
Athletes village
Jakabaring, Palembang which covered the area of more than 45,000 square metres will be the athletes village (wisma atlet) during the games. It is located in front of Jakabaring Stadium (Gelora Sriwijaya).[14]
[edit]Transport
In order to prepare for athletes, officials, and visitors during the games, several significant changes are being done in both host cities. Palembang expands its Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport more than a hundred percent.[15] Currently the airport is served by only seven airlines and served only three otherASEAN countries, which are Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. The Inasoc is currently improving the number of flights, especially connecting flights from Jakarta and Singapore to Palembang, and also easiness for charter airflights from other SEA Games participating countries.[16] South Sumatran Office of Transportation, Communication, and Information will provide a total of 40 buses, 100 midibuses, 300 minibuses, and 100 motorcycles for the athletes, officials, and journalists.[17] Besides, a bus rapid transit, Trans Musi, will serve Palembang and surrounding regency of Ogan Ilir andBanyuasin.
Jakarta is served by Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. On December 31, 2010, Jakarta's bus rapid transit, TransJakarta opened its newest two corridors, Corridor 9 and 10. KRL Jabotabek is a mass rapid transit system which serves Jakarta and its commuters. There are currently two mass transportation systems under construction, the Jakarta Monorail and the Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit System but there is no sign these projects will be finished before November 2011.
Logo
The official Logo of SEA Games this time is Garuda, which also the national symbol of Indonesia. Physical appearance of Garuda represents strength, while its wings epitomizes glory and splendor. The upper green strokes symbolize the islands, forests, and mountainous terrain of the Indonesia archipelago, while the blue strokes epitomizes the vast Nusantara ocean which unifies differences. Land and water or Tanah Airin Indonesian means fatherland. The red strokes represent courage, zeal, and burning passion to give the best for the country.[18] This logo was introduced during SEA Games Preparation Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta, December 3, 2010,[19] and launched to the public in a celebration of 300 days before the opening ceremony, January 15, 2011 at Teater Tanah Airku, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.[20]
The official mascot for 2011 Southeast Asian games Indonesia is called Modo and Modi, a pair ofKomodo dragon.[21] Modo is a male Komodo dragon wearing blue traditional Indonesian costume andbatik sarong, while and Modi is female Komodo dragon wearing red kebaya also with batik sash. The mascot was adopted from Komodo dragon, an endemic Indonesian fauna native to Komodo, Rinca, and Padar islands in East Nusa Tenggara. The mascot was introduced and launched on 200 days before the SEA Games XXVI, on Monday 25 April 2011 in two places in Jakarta; Tanah Airku Theatre in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah and Selamat Datang Monument in Central Jakarta.[22] "Modo" is a short name for Komodo, while "Modo-Modi" is a modified spelling of Muda-Mudi which means "youth" in Indonesian language, derived from pemuda (male youth) and pemudi (female youth).Previously, government of Palembang has chosen Sumatran elephant as the mascot through an open contest, but there was a suggestion from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and National Sports Committee of Indonesia to use Rajawali instead.[23] Rajawali is an Indonesian hawk. Then both Sumatran elephant and Javan hawk eagle were discarded in favour of Komodo dragon. The chosing of Komodo dragon for the games mascot was in line with Indonesian effort to promote Komodo National Park as a New7Wonders of Nature candidate.
