They have offered a full refund to those who had purchased a ticket and was unable to be seated. The committee also promptly replied to the many criticisms on its Facebook page.

However, several questions remained answered.

1. Why were spectators not allowed in the stadium?

According to The Straits Times, several spectators, who despite having paid tickets, were informed that there was no space left in their allotted sections.

2. Did the organisers communicate clearly with its volunteers on how to handle such a crowd situation?

Freelance photographer Aeron Chew, 44, told Mothership.sg he was herded between three different gates, all of which were closed to entry.

From the Facebook comments on the Sea Games 2015 Facebook page, it was not an isolated incident.

3. Why was the stadium full in the first place? Did the organisers over-issued the tickets for the closing ceremony? Why did the organisers decide to over-issue the tickets?

According to a Channel NewsAsia report, two ticket-goers were "told the stadium was full".

A few netizens had paid tickets but could not find seats.

4. Was the stadium overcrowded?

The same Channel NewsAsia report highlighted that the two ticker-goers "had to stand and watch the event as all seats were taken".

This was similar to what a netizen experienced:

5. If the stadium was overcrowded, did the organisers go against any safety and security procedures? 

Yahoo Singapore spotted spectators coming in during the halfway point of the show and sitting on the stairs near the area with allocated seating for the media.

A few FB fans on SEA Games 2015 FB page also mentioned that they had to sit on the stairs:

With thousands of spectators sitting on the staircase, will this affect the stadium's evacuation plan in the event of an emergency?

Moreover, did the SEA Games organisers consult the Sports Hub management on how to handle the crowd, which was estimated to be at least 40,000?

6. Did the pitch invasion compromise the athletes' safety and security? 

According to Channel NewsAsia, "athletes and volunteers join in for a party to conclude the Games", with up to 12,000 blinking paper wings and 5,000 balloons released from the top of the stadium.

Some people who invaded the pitch didn't look like volunteers or athletes. Did they break through the security to party with the athletes?

It is fortunate that there were no incidents last night bar a few hundred of irate ticket-goers.

The government and the stake-holders hope that the Sports Hub will become a global icon like the Wembley stadium in the UK.

However, important questions of safety and crowd control management need to be addressed, so that Sports Hub will not be synonymous with world famous incidents such as Hillsborough and Heysel instead.

Mothership.sg has contacted SINGSOC this morning on queries whether tickets were over-issued, whether safety regulations were adhered to, and the number of tickets offered to sponsors. SINGSOC has yet to respond at press time. 

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