1981 SEA Games

11th Southeast Asian Games

Host city	Manila, Philippines
Nations	7
Sport	18
Opening	6 December 1981
Closing	15 December 1981
Opened by	Ferdinand Marcos President of the Philippines
Torch lighter	Benjamin Silva-Netto
Ceremony venue	Rizal Memorial Stadium

The 1981 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 11th Southeast Asian Games, was a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines from 6 to 15 December 1981. This was the first time that the Philippines hosted the Games since its first participation in 1977, and by that, the Philippines became the sixth nation to host the SEA Games after Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

More than 2,200 athletes and officials had participated in the Manila SEA Games. The event was officially opened by President Ferdinand Marcos, and the cauldron was lit by Benjamin Silva-Netto. The colourful opening ceremony was held in the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

A new football stadium and indoor arena was built in Pasig named the University of Life Track & Field and Arena or the ULTRA, now called the PhilSports Complex. The adjacent apartments were used as the athlete's quarters and was converted into a BLISS housing project of First Lady Imelda Marcos. The final medal tally was led by Indonesia, followed by Thailand and hosts Philippines.

The games

Participating nations

Brunei was a British colony at that time

•  Burma
•  Brunei
•  Indonesia
•  Malaysia
•  Philippines (Host)
•  Singapore
•  Thailand

Sports

• Aquatics ()
• Archery ()
• Athletics ()
• Badminton ()
• Basketball ()
• Bowling ()
• Boxing ()
• Cycling ()
• Football ()
• Gymnastics ()
• Judo ()
• Sepak takraw ()
• Shooting ()
• Softball ()
• Table tennis ()
• Tennis ()
• Volleyball ()
• Weightlifting ()

Medal table

Key

  *   Host nation (Philippines)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Indonesia (INA)	85	73	56	214
2	Thailand (THA)	62	45	41	148
3	Philippines (PHI)*	55	55	77	187
4	Malaysia (MAS)	16	27	31	74
5	Burma (BIR)	15	19	27	61
6	Singapore (SIN)	12	26	33	71
7	Brunei (BRU)	0	0	0	0
Totals (7 entries)		245	245	265	755

References

• Percy Seneviratne (1993) Golden Moments: the S.E.A Games 1959-1991 Dominie Press, Singapore ISBN 981-00-4597-2
• History of the SEA Games