Singapore 2015 welcome ASEAN Para Games athletes with Village ceremony

Athletes were welcomed to Games Village with a ceremony ©Facebook/ASEAN Para Games

Singapore 2015 have welcomed all 10 participating countries at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Para Games at an official ceremony at the Games Village in Marina Bay Sands.

Around 3,000 athletes and officials are set to stay in the Village throughout the duration of the eighth edition of the Games.

The event traditionally follows the South East Asian Games, held earlier this year in Singapore, with organisers hoping to achieve a similar level of success during the week-long event which is set to take place from Wednesday (December 3) to December 9.

Stilt walkers and samba drummers help to welcome the athletes at the Village, while several competitors also took the opportunity to engage with the performers as they arrived at the destination.

Singapore 2015 chairman Lim Teck Yin spoke to the athletes about the theme of the Games upon on their arrival at the Marina Bay Sands, which had been chosen to host the competitors, due to its ability accommodate people with special needs.

"The theme, 'Celebrate the Extraordinary', is about connecting individuals, communities and countries in our region to our dreams,” Lim said.

“It is beyond competing, winning or even overcoming defeat.

“It is about inspiring the one that is inside each of us, and then going on to inspire those around us."

Musical entertainment was part of the event for the 3,000 athletes and officials ©Facebook/ASEAN Para Games

The majority of competition at the Games is set to take place at the Singapore Sports Hub, located a short distance away from the Village, with a total of 1,185 athletes due to take part in 476 events, across 15 sports and disciplines.

Archery, athletics, badminton, boccia, cerebral palsy football, chess, football five-a-side, goalball, powerlifting, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tenpin bowling and wheelchair basketball all feature on the Games programme.

Admission to events will be free of charge for the public to attend, other than the ticketed Opening Ceremony which has been sold out.

The Opening Ceremony is set to take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Thursday where the athletes, including Singapore’s largest-ever team of 154, will be paraded at the venue before competition begins.

The regional event was first held in Kuala Lumpur in 2001, with Singapore being joined by Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, East Timor, Vietnam and Thailand at the event, with the latter hoping to top the medals table for the second consecutive Games.