Palembang is the fourth Indonesian city to host the ASEAN University Games after Jakarta in 1982, Bandung in 1990 and Surabaya in 2004.
The games were deemed generally successful, with the rising standard of university sports competition among the Southeast Asian nations.
It was chosen to highlight the games organiser's commitment in instilling Friendship and harmony among the youths of Southeast Asia.
The mascot of the 2014 ASEAN University Games is a pair of male and female Sumatran elephants, namely Bonna and Bonni respectively.
The adoption of the Sumatran elephant pair as the games mascot is to represent harmony among the Southeast Asian countries.