From 12 to 20 June 1993, Singapore will stage the XVII SEA Games, playing host to the 10 participating nations of Southeast Asia. Preparations are already underway and all sportsmen and sport enthusiasts are looking forward eagerly to this much awaited international event.

The Games was known earlier as the "SEAP Games" with only countries in the Southeast Asia Peninsular (SEAP) participating. The six rings in the Games emblem represent the original SEAP countries - Thailand, Burma, Malaya, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Singapore was invited subsequently to compete. The name was changed to "SEA Games" with the inclusion of Indonesia, Philippines and Brunei in 1977.

The Games, apart from the opportunity it creates for athletes to compete, is also meant as an avenue to promote unity and closer bonds of friendship among the competing nations.

Singapore first hosted the Games, the seventh in the Series, in 1973. We played host again ten years later, in 1983. 1993 will be the third time for Singapore as host of the Games.

The coming Games will also be promoted as a People's Games, targeting at the involvement of as many Singaporeans as possible. A 500km marathon, torch relay, passing through all the constituencies in Singapore, will be held to mark the opening of the Games, bringing a part of it to the doorsteps of all Singaporeans.

To commemorate this important sporting event, a set of six stamps will be released on 12 Jun 93. The stamps depict six popular sports in Singapore, namely football, basketball, badminton, athletics, water polo and yachting.

Designed by stamp designer, Leo Teck Chong, the stamps record and capture the thrilling, action-packed moments of each sport. They are illustrated snapshots of the athletes in action. Each stamp bears the official SEA Games logo, a stylised lionhead with six rings in place of the lion symbol which has been a permanent mark on our stamps.

The ancillary products feature familiar aspects of the Games, such as the stop watch, the medals, the athletes and also incorporate the SEA games mascot, Singa, the lion with a heart. Attractively designed and printed, these products, together with the stamps and datestamp impression of an athlete in motion, will make wonderful mementos of the XVII SEA Games which Singapore is proud to be a part of.