The 2025 SEA Games (), officially the 33rd SEA Games, or the 2025 Southeast Asian Games and also known as Bangkok–Chonburi–Songkhla 2025, is an upcoming international multi-sport event sanctioned by the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF), scheduled to be held from 9 to 20 December 2025 in Thailand with Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Chonburi, and Songkhla as their main host cities. The joint bid from the three cities was awarded the Games on 13 January 2023, after Thailand was confirmed as the host country by the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF). It was the first time that the host cities were selected to host the Southeast Asian Games through the bidding and election process.
This will be the seventh SEA Games in Thailand, the fifth for Bangkok (previously hosted the 1959 SEAP Games, the 1967 SEAP Games, the 1975 SEAP Games, and the 1985 SEA Games), and the first hosted in Chonburi and Songkhla as main host cities.
Host selection
As per SEA Games traditions, hosting duties are rotated among the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) member countries. Each country is assigned to host the event in a predetermined year, but the country could choose to withdraw or not host that edition.
2019 disruption
On 21 July 2017, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) announced that it was withdrawing its support for the Philippine hosting of the 2019 SEA Games saying that government decided to reallocate funds meant for hosting to the rehabilitation efforts of Marawi which was left devastated following the Marawi crisis. and it was later reported that the POC's insistence on handling all matters of the hosting; finance, security and the conduct of the Games as it did for the 2005 SEA Games led to the PSC's withdrawal of support.
On 10 August 2017, Maj. Gen. Charouck Arirachakaran, the vice president and secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand (NOCT) stated that Thai prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha agreed on the 2019 Games replacement plan after the Philippine's withdrawal. The candidates were Chiang Mai, Chonburi and Songkhla.
Six days later, the Philippines, through the Philippine Olympic Committee president Peping Cojuangco, confirmed that the country would host the 2019 Games, after Cojuangco wrote Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte and appealed for reconsideration.
2025 confirmation
In December 2021, Thailand was nominated as the host country for the 2025 SEA Games at the SEAGF Council and Executive Board Meetings in Hanoi, Vietnam. Five months later, SEAGF Council and Executive Board officially announced that Thailand will be the host country for the event in 2025, and initially nominated Bangkok as the host city. In addition, Malaysia and Singapore were confirmed as host countries for the 2027 and 2029 editions.
After the confirmation, this marked the seventh time that Thailand had hosted the SEA Games. Its capital city, Bangkok staged the inaugural SEAP Games in 1959, and again in 1967, 1975, and 1985; when the games itself had already became known as the SEA Games. However, both the 1995 and 2007 editions were taken place in the Thai provinces of Chiang Mai and Nakhon Ratchasima respectively.
Bidding and election
On 11 October 2022, Dato Seri Chaipak Siriwat, the vice president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand (NOCT) revealed the framework of the bidding process that the host cities/provinces should expend for the games at a budget-friendly cost, and they don't have a requirement to build venues anymore. Unlike 2019 and 2021 editions that their competition venues were spread over 23 and 12 cities respectively, the possible number of host cities for the games should be limited to 3 or 4.
Eight bidding parties from twelve cities/provinces interested in hosting the games were nominated by Prachum Boontiem, the vice governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), in October 2022. Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Songkhla were submitted as sole bids, while Bangkok, Chonburi, Songkhla, Krabi, Phuket, Trang, Amnat Charoen, Sisaket, Ubon Ratchathani, and Yasothon were submitted as projects to bidding provinces. Although the bidding process was started in October 2022, some bidding parties were revealed their bidding campaigns earlier: Ubon Ratchathani in April 2016, Chonburi in January 2019, and Krabi/Phuket/Trang in February 2021.