SEA Games 2025: Where are the fans? Empty seats a bummer at events in Thailand

BANGKOK – Welcome to the half-empty SEA Games. Joyous but abandoned. Competitive but often deserted.

At the Chaeng Watthana Government Complex, the venue for wushu and karate, there were more people waiting in line at the nearby immigration office than fans in the competition hall.

At other stadia, attendance has largely been limited to team officials, volunteers, family members, friends and a handful of curious locals.

Even in football, a sport so beloved in this nation which is gunning to end a gold-medal drought after eight years, the turnout has been depressing.

Large swathes of empty seats greeted Thailand’s Under-22 football team as they beat Timor-Leste 6-1 in front of 7,741 fans at the 51,560-seater Rajamangala National Stadium on Dec 3. The numbers were not any better on Dec 11, when 7,896 spectators watched their 3-0 win over Singapore.

At other venues at the Dec 9-20 SEA Games, the low spectator numbers have been hard to ignore.

At the athletics events in the Supachalasai National Stadium – which has a capacity of around 19,800 – there has been a visibly alarming number of empty seats.

Local media reports also said that just a few hundred spectators turned out for the Thai women’s football team’s 8-0 victory over Indonesia at the 8,680-capacity Chonburi Stadium.

While strong crowd support was seen for badminton – especially for matches involving home favourites Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Ratchanok Intanon – and table tennis at the Thammasat University, as well as swimming at the Huamark Aquatic Center, that has not been the case for some other sports.

Locals whom The Straits Times spoke to shared a similar disinterest in the Games.

Entrepreneur Teeradej Asavawatcharin said the biennial event – which is returning to Thailand after 18 years – is being held at “the wrong time, at the wrong place”.

The 43-year-old and his friends have not watched any event since the Games kicked off on Dec 9.

Teeradej noted that the Bangkok traffic and hosting some sports held in “distant areas” of the city had not helped attendances.

He added: “The economy, the death of the Queen Mother, the ongoing issues we read and hear about with Cambodia, the political climate – these are all more important things that Thai people are worried about.

“Not many people have the interest now to go to sports (venues) unless they were already fans or very passionate about sports.”

Chatchai Udomlertpreecha felt that more could have been done to better promote the sports in the lead-up to the Games.

The 50-year-old electrical engineer said he remembers the 2007 Korat edition being very well publicised.

Chatchai, who was at the Bangkok Sport Climbing Center on Dec 14, added: “There weren’t many posters or advertisements in Bangkok in the months leading up to the Games. It was very quiet.”

Those who have travelled here to support their countrymen have also been surprised by the lack of strong support in the stands. The event’s reputation as a “kampung (village) Games” has also not helped, they added.

A Filipino fan, who wanted to be known only as Jayden, was at the Suphachalasai National Stadium on Dec 14 to cheer on his compatriots Yacine Guermali and Sonny Wagdos in the men’s 5,000m.

He told The Straits Times: “I know quite a number of people who are saving up to go to the Asian Games in Japan in 2026. They want to see elite athletes in action.

“Maybe that is why you don’t see so many foreign supporters unless they are family or friends.”

“And when you can watch it for free on TV, maybe there is even less reason to go.”

But athletes told ST that the Games are important to them and they are hoping for better turnouts in the days ahead.

Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist, who reclaimed his English billiards men’s singles title on Dec 12, is one who appreciates the regional event, especially as billiards is not featured in other major Games.

The 57-year-old former world champion, who played in a hall sparsely filled with delegates and fans at Bangkok’s Thunder Dome, said: “I remember it was packed at the billiards events in Myanmar during 2013 and at my first SEA Games in Korat in 2007. It’s always nice to play in front of a crowd but when we play, we are so focused we don’t really know what’s going on in the stands.”

“I saw some guys in the traditional costume and instruments, but maybe there are just a few local fans here because their players are not involved.

“Or it could be because we moved to Bangkok at the last minute, after we were supposed to play in Chonburi.”

Thailand’s women’s 200m butterfly champion Kamonchanok Kwanmuang has enjoyed the atmosphere at the Huamark Aquatic Center, where fans have filled the 3,100-seater facility to cheer on the local swimmers.

She said: “It’s great to swim in front of so many home fans in my first major international meet in Thailand.”

Poor spectator turnout, glitches and conflicts – Thailand’s ongoing border dispute with Cambodia saw the latter pulling out of the Games on Dec 10 – may have marred the Games but, perhaps, there is still hope for Thailand and future hosts.

Questions may arise over whether interest in the regional event is waning, although there is hope among the community that as more rising talent from South-east Asia emerge, greater interest could follow.

At the Supachalasai National Stadium, two sprint sensations have dominated the headlines: Thailand’s Puripol Boonson became the first South-east Asian runner to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m on Dec 11, while Singapore’s Shanti Pereira completed a historic double-double by winning the 100m and 200m in consecutive Games.

Jayden said: “Of course you can watch these athletes at the Asian Games or even the Olympics, but the SEA Games is where they started.

“For me, it is exciting to see them do their best here. I hope more people support their athletes.”