Wazzup Pilipinas!
The maximum seating capacity of the Philippine Arena is 55,000 compared to the Araneta Coliseum, known as the Big Dome at Araneta Center in Cubao, which has only a maximum of 36,000.
So if you can fill up this venue, then you are probably a much better attraction compared to those who were able to fill up the Big Dome.
"The Philippine Arena is the world's largest indoor arena. It is a multipurpose indoor arena with a maximum seating capacity of 55,000 at Ciudad de Victoria, a 140-hectare tourism enterprise zone in Bocaue and Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippines about 30 kilometers north of Manila. It is one of the centerpieces of the many centennial projects of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) for their centennial celebration on July 27, 2014. The legal owner of the arena is the INC's educational institution, New Era University." - Wikipedia
So I thought they would not allow taking videos at the Philippine Arena during the SEAGames 2019 Opening Ceremonies. It was clearly specified on the SEAGames official Facebook page
However, everyone still took out their smartphones and cameras to take videos. I guess you can't stop Pinoys in documenting the moments especially this particular national event happening in the Philippines and now being observed by Southeast Asia, if not the world.
Kalimutan muna ang pagkamuhi sa gobyerno o pansariling problema, dahil kung nandoon ka mismo sa Philippine Arena at nanood ng opening ceremonies ng SEAGames 2019, tunay kang mamamangha kung paano nakakaantig ng puso ang pagsuporta ng ating mga kababayan sa ating mga athleta.
Lalo na ng lumabas ang mga athletang sila Lydia de Vega, Onyok Velasco, Efren Bata Reyes, Paeng Nepomuceno, atbpa.
Goosebumps dahil maaalala mo ang kanilang panahon ng kasikatan na nagbigay karangalan sa ating bansa.
Pasensiya na at lowbatt na yung ginamit ko na pangkuha ng litrato at video pero agad-agad kung i-upload ang mga iyon bukas na bukas agad.
Salamat sa isang gabi ng karangalan. Huwag muna nating isipin ang hidwaan, dahil panahon ito kung kailan tayo ay dapat magbunyi para ikatuwa ng ating mga kalahok sa patimpalak.
Wazzup Pilipinas was overwhelmed with the number of athletes that marched in stage...I thought it would never end, and the song "Manila" was looping in the background while everyone was singing and grooving to the beat, all-smiles, and even joined by the foreigners seated around us, whether wearing formal or casual outfits, everyone truly cherished every moment.
The March of the Philippine athletes seemed like endless dahil sa dami ng delegates...akala mo hindi na mauubos...But still hindi nakakasawang makita ang mga athletes at kantahin paulit-ulit yung song...hahaha.. iba talaga feeling when you are actually there seeing the faces of both athletes and audience.
The entrance of teams from different countries with our very own beauty queens leading ala santacruzan style was satisfactory enough.
When it was the turn of the Philippine athletes, the song "Manila" running as their soundtrack while they marched was also sang by most of the audience as per initial encouragement of the earlier hosts during the early hours before 7pm.
Yeah, it may have been set with the crowd, but still it was catchy to sing along with the iconic tune.
Kudos also to the organizers and production team of the Opening Ceremonies, and to the President for showing up.
Nagulat ako kasi tolerable ang start ng event. Hindi late. Hindi the so called "Filipino Time".
Even the President was early kaya nasimulan niya ang opening ceremonies of SEAGames 2019.
They said 7pm, it did start at only a few minutes after 7pm....Though everyone was informed of the 5pm lockdown when all the doors of the Arena will close.
But even before that, may mga lively familiar hosts (comedians from TV) and performances na agad every 20 minutes yata so the crowd was kept entertained. The hosts were sort of giving us a heads up on what will happen later - including the singing of the "Manila" song.
We were seated infront and right in the center feeling VIPs. Now I know I should invest on a DSLR with zoom lens to get better videos and photos since the stage is too big and wide to capture with just a smartphone camera, also unfortunate that they don't allow tripods or monopods (selfie sticks) inside the Philippine Arena. Nangawit talaga ako with my smartphone.
Pinaiwan din sa amin yung food and water na baon. Kaya medyo uhaw at gutom...makapag dinner kami at almost midnight na when we got back in Quezon City. Kahit may mga food stalls outside, we didn't bother to go out and buy because baka ma miss namin ang mga pangyayari.....kasi like I said, may mga earlier performers din.
Honestly, Wala akong maipipintas masyado sa opening ceremonies. Professionally organized and world-class performances talaga.
Wazzup Pilipinas was with the Turismo Filipina 2019 candidates at the SEAGames 2019 Opening Ceremonies held at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
What can I say about the SEAGames 2019 opening ceremonies?
World class!!!
I was actually surprised, and wanting more. So when the performances ended... I felt super bitin ... More, more more!!!
Watching LIVE is a different experience because you get to watch the BTS that you can't see on TV.
And President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was even seen grooving to the beat.
Now, I've read about the accissations that the cost of all these was 11 Billion. And they are questioning if it really looks like as per amount, and alledging that all that money were never accounted for. Overpriced yet many venues are still unfinished. Logistics are still suffering disorganization, and athletes are treated less than expected from a host country.
But those are totally different stories yet to be investigated further.
For now, we are sending our congratulations to the organizers of the SEA Games 2019 Opening Ceremonies.
Congratulations also to Turismo Filipina organizers for being part of such a historical moment, and to the organizers of the opening ceremonies for satisfactory production numbers.
For supporting photos and videos, please check our official Facebook page of Wazzup Pilipinas
I originally had no plans of watching the SEA Games 2019 opening ceremonies at the Philippine Arena because it was clearly mentioned on the official Facebook page of the 2019 SEA Games that video taking of any form is not allowed. So that includes livestreaming.
But when I got an invite, my first thought was "Oh, Well, I'll just watch it as a spectator" and take photos instead.
But when I saw almost everyone using their smartphones to take videos, and the security unminding them, then I got so excited, quickly took out my smartphone too and started recording.
Naturally, my thoughts were all about sharing the videos on my social media later. The Filipinos who can't afford to buy the expensive tickets, in our case is P12k per person, will now be able to watch the SEA Games 2019 opening ceremonies.
"The Patron A tickets cost ₱12,000, ₱4,000 for the upper box, ₱1,500 for the general admission center, and ₱1,000 for the general admission side."
I am not waiting for any thank you from my viewers, but I do believe the government should have opened the venues, even the privately owned Philippine Arena owned by INC / New Era, for free as it is a national event we should all be able to witness. The government should have shouldered the cost of the entrance to the opening ceremonies.
#WazzupPilipinas #PambansangBlogger #SEAGames2019 #WeWinAsOne
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
