Thailand at the 2005 SEA Games

The 2005 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines. This was the third time the Philippines hosted the games and its first time since 1991. Previously, Philippines also staged the games for the first time in 1981. Around 5336 athletes from 11 participating nations participated at the games which featured 443 events in 40 sports. The games was held from 27 November to 5 December 2005, although several events had commenced from 20 November 2005. The games was opened and closed by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the President of the Philippines at the Quirino Grandstand, Rizal Park. The final medal tally was led by host Philippines, followed by Thailand and Vietnam. Several Games and national records were broken during the games. Though there were several controversies, the games were deemed generally successful with the rising standard of competition amongst the Southeast Asian Nations. 14 years after the 2005 SEA Games, the Philippines hosted the 2019 edition of the Southeast Asian Games, which was decentralized with no designated host city. Although this edition was also held in different venues in the Philippines, Manila is officially designated as the host city.