The 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games will officially kick off in Singapore on June 5. All necessary preparations have been completed thus far, promising to bring participating athletes and officials an exciting and successful SEA Games.

This will be the first time in 22 years Singapore has been given the honour to host the region’s largest sporting event. Contrary to the practices of previous SEA Games editions, which were organised in early December (winter), the 28th SEA Games will take place from June 5 to 16 (summer). According to Lim Teck Yin, Chairman of the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee, the time adjustment aims to prevent the 28th SEA Games from coinciding with other important events such as Singapore’s National Day and the F1 Singapore Grand Prix.

Singapore slammed 50 gold medals when it last hosted the Games in 1993 – a record number of golds for the island country in the SEA Games competitions. At this year’s event, the host’s sports delegation has targeted to win 75 gold medals and secure a top-two finish in the overall podium.

The US$1.3 billion Singapore Sports Hub will be put into use as the main host venue for most of the events. A 20m high cauldron is incorporated inside the hub with its design simulating the human DNA chain. The structure is also an architectural and cultural centerpiece around which many activities will be held to draw in fans. The Singapore National Stadium with 52,000 seats is located in the centre of the sports hub. One distinctive feature of this year’s event is that an athletes’ village has not been built. Athletes and officials will be housed in hotels in downtown Singapore, which, as the host says, will make it more convenient for athletes to arrive at the competition venues.

To encourage public participation in the Games, entrance will be free of charge for spectators in 18 sports, while tickets are compulsory – at relatively affordable levels – in the remaining 18 events. The latest technological advances will be applied at the 28th SEA Games. Athletics will see the presence of automatically marking cars in throwing disciplines (javelin, discus throw, hammer throw), aiming to identify the exact throwing distances and skills of athletes. In addition, coverage of the Games’ competitions and athletes’ profiles will also be published on social networks and through applications on smart devices.

The 28th SEA Games will feature 36 sports in 402 events instead of the 30 sports as initially announced, with a focus on Olympic and Asian Games disciplines aiming to ensure the quality of the Games as well as the goal of sports exchanges among countries in the region. The host nation also introduced several sports of its own strength to the Games’ competitive system.

Over 7,000 athletes from 11 ASEAN countries will compete in the first 30 sports: swimming, diving, water polo, archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, billiards and snooker, bowling, canoeing, cycling, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, field hockey, judo, handball, pencak silat, rugby, sailing, sepak takraw, shooting, softball, squash, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, traditional boat race, triathlon, waterskiing and wushu; and six supplemented events: boxing, equestrian, floorball, petanque, rowing and volleyball.

With just a few days left before the 28th SEA Games opens, Singapore has been urgently making last-minute preparations towards a wholly successful Games with eye-catching performances and numerous impression among international friends.