Three things we hope to see at the SEA Games closing ceremony

I did not feel the need to be excited about the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games initially, but after watching the opening ceremony and seeing our athletes sweeping up 82 gold medals over the past few days, I started to feel more interested about keeping up with the games.

The SEA Games is easily one of Singapore’s marquee events this year. There were 400 gold medals up for grabs, and Singapore has managed to surpass its pre-Games target of 50 gold medals in a matter of days, which gives us a good reason to end the games with a bang.

The opening ceremony was surprisingly stunning too. It was a kaleidoscope of colours coupled with elaborate props, effects, and performances, which made me wonder about the closing ceremony—will it be a tough act to follow?

Here are three things we hope to see at the SEA Games closing ceremony tomorrow.

1. A celebration with local acts

Many local musicians, such as HubbaBubbas and Daphne Khoo, were featured in the opening ceremony, and this allowed them to showcase their talents to a regional, if not global, audience.

They were also given an entire performance item to themselves—I felt that this was a nice gesture by the creative director.

Their performance brought talents from various genres of music together for a sing-off. Each genre came out strong singing their version of the SEA Games theme song, ‘Unbreakable’.

In a nutshell, it was a good “storytelling session” that suited the mood of an opening ceremony.

For tomorrow’s grand finale, how about taking things down a notch to celebrate our victories after 12 days of competition? Perhaps, we could feature our local DJs to get the party started!

2. Cameo appearances

The opening ceremony featured our national mascots like Singa and Sharity, while our own Prime Minister made a special appearance in a video.

It was surprising to see him emerge from his green costume, which made me wonder, will another significant political icon make a similar appearance tomorrow evening? *coughs* Mr President *coughs*

Even better, what if one of our comedians makes a comeback? I would love to see the best contractor in Singapore (in JB, and some say Batam) making a brief cameo appearance tomorrow!

3. A feast for the eyes

I was most impressed by the first act of the opening ceremony. The act featured local musician Charlie Lim’s ‘Still’ playing in the background while dancers, who sported costumes fitted with lights, swayed to the music.

The stadium’s lighting technology was fully utilised in the ceremony, and stunning graphics were projected onto the stadium’s floor and retractable roof.

Spectators also held LED lights that illuminated throughout the ceremony, creating a panorama of lights all around the stadium.

After being treated to a spectacular light show in the opening number, can we expect something beyond the usual floodlights and celebratory fireworks for the closing ceremony? Flames and pyrotechnics could enhance the wow factor of the closing ceremony. Or, how about using laser lights to bring out the celebratory mood?

What would you like to see in the closing ceremony tomorrow?