6th ASEAN ParaGames Solo/Surakarta Indonesia

]Parallel to the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, the 2011 ASEAN ParaGames will be held 12 - 20 December 2011, in Surakarta (Solo)^[1], Central Java, Indonesia. Solo's Manahan Stadium^[2] will be the main Games venue. The APG serves as an opportunity to prepare athletes for theParalympic Games^[3].

Patterned after the Paralympic Games, the ASEAN Para Games is a biannual regionalmultisport event held 2 weeks after the end of every Southeast Asian Games. Physically challenged athletes with mobility and visual disabilities, amputees or those with cerebral palsy from ASEAN member nations - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam compete in these Games.

Traditionally, the ASEAN ParaGames are hosted by the same country and sports venues where the Southeast Asian Games takes place. Lack of accessible facilities or inexperience in catering to the needs for disabled sport has recently triggered hosting city substitutions likeNakhon Ratchasima rather than Bangkok in the 2008 ASEAN ParaGames, or a change of country–Malaysia^[4] rather than Laos for the 2009 ASEAN ParaGames. This trend continues with the substitution of Solo rather than Jakarta in this edition of the Para Games