2019 Southeast Asian Games will begin on Saturday, 30 November and ends on Wednesday, 11 December. The Philippines will be hosting this year’s Southeast Asian Games 2019, which will be taking place in November. 2019 Southeast Asian Games has made its mark for being the first edition to include e-sports and obstacle courses, as well as having the highest number of sports in the history of the Games. The recent developments of the New Clark City Sports Complex have been sped up to make the necessary preparations for the Southeast Asian Games 2019, featuring 57 sports to be played by nearly 10,000 athletes from 11 countries, including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Originally, Brunei was meant to host the Games, but pulled out last minute. The rights went to the Philippines, which briefly experienced a grapple over whether its funds should go to the rehabilitation of Marawi or the Southeast Asian Games. Finally, the Philippines agreed to host the Games. The Philippines has hosted the Southeast Asian Games four times, and last played host to the Games in 2005. With the opportunity rearing its head again, they plan not to disappoint. The country is confident that they are prepared to host the Southeast Asian Games, and see it as a stepping stone to hosting the Asian Games in 2030.

As far as New Clark City goes, the developments are well in place and progressing steadily – the Philippines plans to have everything essential to the Games completed with two months’ buffer time. The budget for this project is stated to be within the range of ₱3 billion to ₱6 billion. As the months draw closer to the opening of the Southeast Asian Games, we can only wait and anticipate the opening of New Clark City’s sports hub.