The BIMP-EAGA Friendship Games is a sporting biennial event between the regions of the four member countries of the BIMP-EAGA. The inaugural edition of the games took place in General Santos, Mindanao, Philippines from 25–27 April 1996.
History The former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos proposed the said subregional economic co-operation initiative between the border areas of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines in order to accelerate the economic development between these countries. The planned cooperation came to fruition with the foundation of BIMP-EAGA on 24 March 1994. The first friendship game was inaugurated in General Santos, Philippines, on 25–27 April 1996. Subsequently, the second friendship games were held at Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia in 24–26 October 1997. The friendship games was in hiatus for 5 years and only made a comeback in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines on 23–26 April 2003.
Participating countries Nation / IOC Designation Year Debuted Urban Centres 1996 Bandar Seri Begawan 1996 Kalimantan: Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, Pontianak, Samarinda Sulawesi: Bitung, Makassar, Manado, Pare-Pare Maluku: Ternate Papua: Jayapura, Manokwari 1996 Sabah: Kota Kinabalu, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, Tawau Sarawak: Bintulu, Kuching, Miri, Sibu Labuan 1996 Mindanao: Davao City, General Santos, Zamboanga City, Cotabato City Palawan: Puerto Princesa 2018 Northern Territory: Darwin
Editions YearGamesHost cityDate1st (gold)2nd (gold)3rd (gold)19961 General Santos25–27 April 1996unknownunknownunknown19972 Kuching24–26 October 1997unknownunknownunknown20033 Puerto Princesa23–26 August 2003Mindanao (21) (11) Palawan (9)20044 Kota Kinabalu13–15 September 2004 (32) (15) Mindanao (14)20065 Makassar24–26 November 2006 (19) (16) (7)20086 Bandar Seri Begawan28–30 November 2008 (33) (13) A (12)20127 General Santos8–11 December 2012 (32) (18)Mindanao (11)20148 Labuan6–11 December 2014 (14) (10) (8)20169 Samarinda7–10 December 2016201810 Bandar Seri Begawan7–9 December 2018 (23) A (16) (14)2020- Davao CityCancelled202411 Puerto Princesa City1–5 December 2024
See also SEA Games ASEAN Para Games East Asian Games Asian Games ASEAN School Games
References