RANGOON — With less than a month to go until the start of the Southeast Asia Games (SEA Games) in Burma, organizers have announced that ticket sales for the sports event will begin on Monday.
The opening ceremony of the 27th SEA Games, which Burma is hosting for the first time in its history, will be held in the Wunna Theikdi Stadium in the capital Naypyidaw on Dec. 11 at 6 pm.
“We will sell 4,000 tickets to locals and 4,000 to foreigners, starting from November 18,” said Min Tun, general manager of Accord Myanmar Service, an authorized ticket sales agent for the SEA Games opening and closing ceremonies.
He said Burmese spectators can buy tickets for “ordinary seats” at 3,000 kyat (about US $3) and “first class” seats for 5,000 kyat, while foreigners will have to pay ten times more to attend, with ordinary seats costing $30 and first class costing $50.
Min Tun said ticket prices for the ceremonies at the 30,000-seat, gleaming new Wunna Theikdi Stadium were reasonable. “The tickets are really cheap compared with other SEA Games,” he said.
Foreign and Burmese ticket buyers are required to bring ID to the sales points, while people overseas can purchase tickets through an online payment system.
Tickets for the ceremonies will be available in Naypyidaw at Wunna Theikdi Stadium, Myoma Market Shopping and at Pyinmana Stadium. In Rangoon, tickets can be bought at Rangoon International Airport’s Yangon Sales Center and at Moe Yan Lottery Enterprise in front of Bogyoke Aung San Market. In Mandalay, Moe Yan Lottery Enterprise headquarters offers tickets for sale.
Tickets for most sporting events will go on sale on Monday and will cost 2,500 kyat ($2.50) for both Burmese and foreign spectators.
“For all sports events, except football, people will be charged 2,500 kyat to obtain a card. With this card you can attend all sports events,” said Moe Zaw Htut, a director at the Ministry of Sports. “We are considering reducing the price of the cards,” he said, adding that foreign and Burmese nationals need to bring ID to obtain a card.
The SEA Games card will be sold at Naypyidaw’s Wunna Theikdi Stadium, Leway Sports Training Center, Paung Laung Sports Stadium in Pyinmanar Township and at Junction Center, Hotel Zone, according to the Ministry of Sports. In Rangoon, tickets will be available at Junction Square Mall and the National Indoor Stadium in Thuwunna Township.
Tickets for football matches will go on sale on Nov. 29, according to staff at at My Asia Ticket, a football ticket sales point in Rangoon’s Bahan Township.
The Myanmar Football Federation (MMF) said on its website that tickets for a men’s football match will cost 2,000 kyat for ordinary seats and 4,000 kyat for first class seats. Attending women’s football will cost 1,000 kyat and 3,000 kyat for ordinary and first class seats, respectively.
Tickets for semi-final and final football matches will cost 3,000 kyats for ordinary and 5,000 kyats for first class seats. Staff at My Asia Ticket Head Office said they were awaiting instructions from the MMF regarding ticket pricing for foreign nationals.
The SEA Games will feature 35 different sporting events, such as football, badminton and athletics, basketball, boxing, cycling, golf and field hockey, while traditional Asian sports such as chinlone (Burmese cane ball) and vovinam (Vietnamese martial arts) are also included.
The opening and closing ceremonies, and most competitions are held in Naypyidaw. A number of events—including some football games, wrestling, hockey, kempo, shooting, body building and weight lifting—will be held in Rangoon. Ngwe Saung Beach will host a sailing competition.
In the past year, Max Myanmar Group, owned by Burmese tycoon Zaw Zaw, has built the Wunna Theikdi Stadium, which includes a swimming pool and an indoor stadium, the Zeyar Thiri Football Stadium and a range of other sports facilities in Naypydaw, such as an outdoor cycling track, an equestrian field and the Royal Myanmar Golf Course.
