The Việt Nam delegation at the 30th SEA Games opening ceremony. Việt Nam will host the 31st event and the 11th ParaGames in 2021 but the budget for the events has been cut because of the coronavirus. Photo vtv.vn

HÀ NỘI  The coronavirus has impacted sports this year and now 2021 events are starting to feel the pinch, including the 31st Southeast Asian Games and the 11th ParaGames in Việt Nam.

Both events have had their organising budgets slashed as the Government redirects resources to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has been assigned to approve a plan to host these events in the Hà Nội and surrounding provinces. An organising committee was expected to be set up in February and the first meeting was to be held in March or April.

However, with the whole nation focusing on fighting the pandemic, most activities concerning sports have been delayed, meaning the organising committee has not been established and no meeting has been held.

The plan has not been approved because the budget for organising the event and upgrading facilities has been slashed.

The expense to organise the events has been cut almost in half to VNĐ1 trillion (US$42.5 million), about VNĐ900 billion ($38.2 million) less than the original budget.

The expense to upgrade facilities for the events has also been cut from VNĐ805 billion to VNĐ600 billion ($34.2 - 25.5 million).

It is the second time will Việt Nam host a SEA Games, scheduled for November 21 to December 2. The ParaGames will run from December 14-21. VNS