DOHA—From the world stage to the sporting arena.

Internationally acclaimed stage actress and singer Lea Salonga will once again make the Philippines proud when she performs in the closing ceremony of the 15th Asian Games here today.

Salonga burst into worldwide fame when she played the role of Kim in the highly successful “Miss Saigon” play, which made its run in London and in the United States for several years.

Her rendition of the role of a Vietnamese girl abandoned by her American lover during the Vietnam war and her other roles such as Eponine in “Les Miserables” in London and in the West End, earned for her countless honors, including the Tony Awards in Broadway, the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards and the coveted Lawrence Olivier Award.

Salonga also sung for Disney animated films “Mulan” and “Aladdin” and recently had a New York concert debut at the Carnegie Hall.

According to a copy of the closing ceremony program distributed here, Salonga will “rise above the stadium field on a telescopic mast on the Central Stage, where she would appear to be floating on a cloud of smoke as she sings the “Triumph Of The One,” a stirring ballad written as a tribute to the athletes of the Games.”

David Atkins, who worked on the Sydney Olympics, the Los Angeles Olympics and other spectacular sports projects, including the Doha Asian Games, said Salonga was chosen to perform in the “ending episode of the 15-day sports spectacle.”

“Lea is the best Asian for the role,” said Atkins. “She will be among five artists performing on stage in the 50-minute fantasy show featuring multi-cultural and multi-race people which will be more of a celebration for athletes than a formal cultural show.” Arman Armero