BANGKOK - The last time Vietnam hosted the South-east Asia Games in 2003, the communist country was eager to showcase the results of its economic reform and integration with the wider region. On Thursday (May 12), when the Games return to Hanoi's My Dinh Stadium for the opening ceremony, they will be a declaration of Vietnam's full reopening after surmounting the Covid-19 pandemic.
The SEA Games will be the biggest international event hosted by Vietnam in over two years, involving more than 5,000 athletes from 11 nations, and a staging ground for the country's tourism reboot.
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