Welcome Ceremonies
Cebu City and other satellite venues opened the 23rd Southeast Asian Games days earlier with pomp and pageantry. The SEA Games welcome ceremonies served as the “appetizer” for the formal opening in Manila.
The Welcome Ceremony in Cebu were held in the Cebu City Sports Complex. During the rites, Sinulog dancers welcomed the athletes from the participating nations. During the entry of each country, various schools and colleges from Cebu performed one of the participating country's dance. Though, no one represented Timor Leste in the Parade, the flag still entered the stadium. The Cebu ceremony received raved reviews from its people but was also marred by criticism as well as funding irregularities. The opening had a sell out crowd of 20,000 people but this is due to the allegations that the local organizers heavily slashed ticket prices. The organizers were criticized for selling the SEA Games with "dirt cheapness".
In Bacolod City, the welcome rites were held in the Panaad Stadium, the site of the Men's Football competitions. As expected, the city's Maskara Festival became the theme of the ceremony. In Subic, the theme was "Barrio Fiesta," which featured traditional dances and songs of the Aeta tribe. Similar welcome ceremonies were also held in the Marikina Sports Complex and at the Trace Aquatic Complex in Los Baños, Laguna.
Read more about this topic: 2005 Southeast Asian Games Opening Ceremony
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