The Cambodian SEA Games Organising Committee (CAMSOC) will use the closing and opening of the upcoming 3rd National Games, to be held at the Morodok Techo Stadium, as a pilot run for the historic opening and closing ceremonies of the 32nd SEA Games hosted by the Kingdom next year.
Minister of Tourism and CAMSOC permanent vice-president Thong Khon told a September 15 meeting -- which was attended by the field sub-committee and the sub-committee on accommodations, food and transport -- to use the opportunity to determine how to arrange the VIP platform seating so that those present there can easily watch the competition.
The meeting also focused on all infrastructure in the stadium which needed to be checked to ensure safety and security as well as the construction of the sports villages for the athletes. The meeting evaluated several plans for the village and decided to go with one that had 3,700 beds available for athletes and coaches to stay in the village during the games.
“Having more than 4,000 beds in the sports village just wasn't achievable, so we went with our Plan B with 3,700 beds because that's enough to host more than 9,000 delegates when you account for them changing places and coming and going," he said.
In addition, the meeting also discussed in detail the entrance for the VIPs, the entry gates for athletes and the gates for the attendees. The division will make it easier for everyone to find their seating and needed to be done as part of the preparations for the opening and closing ceremonies on November 21 and 30 at the National Games, which would be the best time for each CAMSOC committee to get some real world practice by treating it as a pilot for the upcoming 2023 SEA Games.
"This is a pilot event, to be the same as the real opening and closing ceremonies for the SEA Games. So, in this busy situation we have determined that the parties involved in this event, especially each expert committee, must be responsible for arranging its own portion of the event.
“This ceremony will be the pilot on the flow of the crowd to their seats and athletes to the locker rooms, but also for the safety, security and public order aspects to make sure all of these systems work. If there is something lacking or mistakes are made we can correct those points as much as possible before the official opening,” he said.
CAMSOC will also set up a "Joint Command Operations Centre" located at the Morodok Techo National Stadium to monitor all locations being used for the SEA Games.
"The Joint Command Operations Centre will be located in Morodok Techo National Stadium, with all experts and stakeholders working together there and dividing the work to check on what has been done.
"We're following CAMSOC's work calendar and roadmap and just following the steps. We hope that the introduction of all these master plans and strategic plans will be an effective way to make things accessible in terms of our preparation as hosts,” Chamroeun said.
