1981 Southeast Asian Games

11th Southeast Asian Games

Host city	Manila, Philippines
Nations participating	7
Sports	18
Opening ceremony	6 December 1981
Closing ceremony	15 December 1981
Officially opened by	Ferdinand Marcos President of the Philippines
Torch lighter	Benjamin Silva-Netto
Ceremony venue	Rizal Memorial Stadium
<  1979 1983  >

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. Philippines is the sixth nation to host the Southeast Asian Games after Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. 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 in Manila. 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 Arena. 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 host Philippines.

The games

Participating nations

¹Brunei was a British colony at that time. More than 2,200 athletes and officials participated in the Manila Games.

Sports

Medal table

Key

  *   Host nation (Philippines)

1981 Southeast Asian Games medal table

Rank	NOC	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
Total (7 NOCs)		245	245	265	755
Source: Source

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
• 1981 SEA Games Athletics Results