Flag-raising rites honor Thai king

NAKHON RATCHASIMA – The Southeast Asian nations, represented here by their athletes and officials, join the Thai people in honoring their much-revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, on his 80th birthday during the flag-raising ceremony.

The regional neighbors pay respect to the Thai king closely after the flag-raising rites at the Athletes Village near the main venue named His Majesty the King’s 80th Birthday Anniversary Stadium.

Flag-raising participants from other countries will be one with the Thai people wearing pink shirt during the exercise starting at 6 p.m.

About 200 Filipino athletes and officials attend the ceremony with PSC commissioner Richie Garcia, in lieu of chef de mission Congressman Monico Puentevella, doing the honors of raising the Philippine flag at about 6:30 p.m.

At around 7:30 p.m. with the flags of all Asean nations having been raised, lights throughout the country will be turned off. Candlelights will then illuminate  the entire country  as the Thai people honor the king.

Thailand is now enveloped with the pink color  after the King’s emergence from the hospital last June in a smart pink jacket.

“Everyone except the chefs de mission will be in pink.

We’re joining the Thai people in honoring His Majesty,” Garcia told The STAR.

The grand SEAG opening ceremonies tomorrow will be another highlight of the King Bhumibol’s birthday celebration.

The work of the same show organizer who put up the openers in the 1995 Chiang Mai SEAG and the 1998 Bangkok Asiad, the grand show features a cast of over 8,000 celebrating the 80th birthday of the King, showing off the beauty of the province and depicting the cultures of the participating nations.

Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn presides over the grand opening, while Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana leads the 1,141-strong Thai contingent during the march past.

The ninth King of the Chakri Dynasty is the world’s longest-reigning monarch. He has also broken all the records of his predecessors in the Chakri Dynasty. He has outlived all the previous Chakri kings. King Rama I, who founded Bangkok as the new capital in 1782, lived the second longest until 72 years of age.

King Bhumibol has also reigned on the throne longer than any previous Chakri king. King Chulalongkorn, the King’s grandfather, reigned for 42 years before passing away, leaving behind a legacy of sweeping legal and administrative reforms that set the stage for Siam to emerge as a modern state.