The games were opened and closed by Nyan Tun, the Vice-president of Myanmar at the Wunna Theikdi Stadium.

[6] The official website of the Olympic Council of Asia also approved the fact that Myanmar would host the 27th Southeast Asian Games in its news launched on 7 June 2010.

[8] The Myanmar SEA Games Organising Committee (MYASOC) was formed to oversee the staging of the event.

[citation needed] The torch relay of the games began at Yangon's Thuwunna Indoor Stadium and ended in Nay Pyi Taw during the opening ceremony, covering a distance of 320 kilometres.

[12] The official mascot of the 2013 Southeast Asian Games is a couple of owls named Shwe Yoe and Ma Moe.

But, in Myanmar, it is also taken to be auspicious and believed to bring forth luck and prosperity to the family, for which the owl dolls are kept at their homes as lucky charms.

[12] The owl as the official mascot of Myanmar SEA Games 2013 has a personality: wise, calm, lucky, loyal, and friendly.

It was led with pre-launch entertainment and a series of screens beamed a dramatic lights show during the Chinese-backed extravaganza.

A showcase of arts and culture about Burmese history was made, with dance performances accompanied the ending of the ceremony.

It was started with an hour of music following the performance of "Colorful Garden", the theme song for the Games and subsequently, "Loyalty of Blood" was later presented by well-known artists May Sweet and Maykhala.

Four performances were presented with the first directly connected the SEA Games to Burmese tradition, celebrating the sport of chinlone, which is believed to have first appeared in Myanmar in the 5th century.

The Closing Ceremony then paid homage to the 135 officially recognised ethnic races diversity of the country with the performance of "Everlasting Myanmar", depicting the rich diversity of the population, and simultaneously the many obstacles on the path to realising a new, peaceful and prosperous modern state.

With the procession complete, VP Nyan Tun officially announced the 27th SEA Games concluded, as strobe lights searched the sky and a cornucopia of fireworks exploded over the stadium.

*   Host nation (Myanmar)In September 2014, Myanmar gold medalists Saw Marlar Nwe (athletics) and Min Zaw Oo (bodybuilding), along with Indonesian gold and silver medalist Indra Gunawan (swimming), tested positive for a banned drug and were stripped of their medals.