VIENTIANE: The 2023 SEA Games/ASEAN Para Games torch relay happened in Laos this morning, 25 April 2023. The torch was carried 6 kilometers, the longest relay distance out of all ASEAN countries who have hosted it.

The relay was attended by many dignitaries including: Secretary of State for the Ministry of Tourism and CAMSOC special envoy, Hor Sarun, Cambodian Ambassador to Laos, Thong Sokuntheary, Head of the Laotian Prime Minister’s Office, Alounxay Sounnalath, as well as senior officials of Laos and ambassadors from other nearby countries.

The 6km torch relay ran from the Royal Embassy of Cambodia to the Pha That Luang temple in the capital city of Vientiane. More than 1,500 people attended the celebrations on the street and joined in the procession.

Laos is the torch’s final stop before returning to Cambodia. It was previously hosted by Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Timor Leste, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar.

The torch will return to Cambodia via the Stung Treng province on 27 April and will continue its procession through the provinces bordering the Tonle Sap Lake. It will go from Stung Treng to the Kratie province on 28 April and then to Kampong Chhnang province on 29 April. After circling the Tonle Sap Lake, it will finally arrive at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh for the opening ceremony of the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games on 5 May.