The organizing committee has just signed a contract with a medal manufacturer to make the rewards for SEA Games 31.

SEA Games 31's gold medal will be plated with 24-karat gold. Photos: Thanh Nien

The production of all medals is scheduled to be completed by late April. There will be roughly 4,000 medals set to be awarded to athletes at the regional largest sporting event.

“The three specimen medals for the SEA Games 31 show the efforts of the host country to make this sporting event special, and are expected to please the awardees,” said the organizer.

The five-millimeter-thick SEA Games medal is cast in a copper-zinc compound, of which the amount of red copper accounts for over 85%. The medal has one side featuring Sao La, the mascot of the Games, and the other side embossed with the logo of the SEA Games.

The colorful patterns on these medals symbolize the extraordinary will, aspiration to conquer, and the noble sports spirit of the athletes as well as their acts when singing the national anthem at the medal ceremony.

The bronze medal of SEA Games 31.

The gold medal will be made of 24-karat gold plated material. To maintain the durability of the products, each medal will be plated with three layers and covered with an extra layer on the outside, whilst the ribbons used to hold the medals will be made of woven fabrics.

The SEA Games 31 with the theme of “For a stronger South East Asia”, will run from May 12 to 23 in Hanoi and 11 neighboring localities in the country.

It is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Singapore, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Thailand, and Vietnam.

To host the event, Vietnam’s National Assembly has already approved an amount of VND750 billion (US$33 million) for the organization earlier this year.