Opening ceremony in
Naypyidaw The opening ceremony was held on 11 December 2013 at the Wunna Theikdi Stadium. It marked the nation's biggest sporting event since 1969. It was led with pre-launch entertainment and a series of screens beamed a dramatic lights show during the Chinese-backed extravaganza. The ceremony began with fireworks displays at the stadium. The theme song "Colourful Garden" was performed during the flag-raising ceremony after performances made by 12,000 school children and the
Myanmar Royal Auspicious Orchestra. Chairman of the 27th SEA Games Organising Committee,
Vice-President Nyan Tun opened the Games with another explosion of colourful fireworks. The Games' torch was relayed by six former Burmese athletes before
Aye Myint Kyu, the Union Minister for Culture, handed it to a Burmese archer where he lit up the Games cauldron by shooting an arrow into it. A showcase of arts and culture about
Burmese history was made, with
dance performances accompanied the ending of the ceremony.
Closing ceremony The closing ceremony was held at Wunna Theikdi Stadium on 22 December 2013. It was started with an hour of music following the performance of "Colorful Garden", the theme song for the Games and subsequently, "Loyalty of Blood" was later presented by well-known artists
May Sweet and
Maykhala. The musical hors d'oeuvres concluded with all artists joining together in "Be Peaceful".
President Thein Sein and his wife Khin Khin Win then entered the stadium, following which the Closing Ceremony was officially opened with pyrotechnic displays. Four performances were presented with the first directly connecting the SEA Games to Burmese tradition, celebrating the sport of
chinlone, which is believed to have first appeared in Myanmar in the 5th century. It was then followed with the "Elephant Dance" which was about paying tribute to the elephants in Myanmar. The Closing Ceremony then paid homage to the
ethnic diversity of the country with the performance of "Everlasting Myanmar", depicting the rich diversity of the population, and simultaneously the many obstacles on the path to realizing a new, peaceful and prosperous modern state. Medal winners of all participating countries were then paraded onto the stadium floor to the beat of martial music. Chants of "Myanmar" rang through the stadium when the hosts entered. With the procession complete,
VP Nyan Tun officially announced the 27th SEA Games concluded, as strobe lights searched the sky and a cornucopia of fireworks exploded over the stadium. After Myanmar handed over the SEA Games responsibilities to Singapore, host of the
2015 Southeast Asian Games, the Games ended with one last round of fireworks and round of musical performances.
Participating nations • • • • • •
(host) • • • • •
Sports The 2013 SEA Games had 34 sports, fewer than
the previous edition. Tennis and gymnastics, two Olympic sports, were not contested. Instead,
chinlone and
Shorinji Kempo took their places. In this edition of the Games,
floorball was also contested as a demonstration sport. • • • • • • • • • ¹ • ʰ • • • ¹ • ³ • • • • • • • • ¹ • ² • ʰ • ² • ² • • • • • • • ¹ • • Indoor • ² • • • ¹ ¹ – not an official
Olympic sport. ² – sport played only at the SEAG. ³ – not a traditional
Olympic nor SEAG Sport and introduced only by the host country. ° – a former official
Olympic sport, not applied in previous host countries and was introduced only by the host country. ʰ- sport not played at the previous edition and was reintroduced by the host country.
Calendar Medal table Timor Leste competed for the 6th time at the games and got their best finish as of 2025. A total of 1531 medals, comprising 461 Gold medals, 459 Silver medals and 611 Bronze medals were awarded to athletes. The host Myanmar's performance was their best to date and placed second overall amongst participating nations. For convenience, this is the official medal table of the 2013 SEA Games, not including the subsequent medal changes. ;Medal changes In September 2014, Myanmar gold medalists Saw Marlar Nwe (athletics) and Min Zaw Oo (bodybuilding), along with Indonesian gold and silver medalist Indra Gunawan (swimming), tested positive for a banned drug and were stripped of their medals. ==Broadcasting==