Sixth World Nomad Games open in Bishkek
The sixth World Nomad Games have opened in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, with more than 100 national teams from all continents taking part. The opening ceremony was held at Bishkek Arena and brought together delegations from more than 100 countries and 21 heads of state. This was reported by Euronews.
Among the guests were Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, an aggressor state. They arrived in the Kyrgyz capital for the summit and presidential session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
43 disciplines
This year's Games programme includes 43 disciplines, including ancient sports and traditional intellectual competitions associated with the culture of Asia's nomadic peoples. The Games opened on Kyrgyzstan's Independence Day. They were first held in Kyrgyzstan in 2014, and the UN recognised the Games as a platform for intercultural dialogue and sustainable development.
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Equestrian competitions hold a central place in the programme. Race distances are six, ten and eleven kilometres. Participants also compete in wrestling on horseback, team games involving driving animals across a field, and picking up objects from the ground at full gallop. Jockeys aged 10 and older are allowed to take part in the races.
New teams
The Games feature six national wrestling styles, including Kyrgyz alysh, Kazakh kures, Tajik gushtini milli kamarbandi, Turkmen goresh and Turkish ashirtmali aba gureshi. The programme also includes archery, tug of war, arm wrestling and weightlifting. Women compete in several disciplines, including archery and certain strength competitions.
New teams have joined the traditional participants from Central Asia, Mongolia, China and the Russian Federation. Representatives of Australia, New Zealand, Algeria, Burundi, Gambia, Jordan, Egypt, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Oman, Uganda, Ethiopia and North Macedonia are competing for the first time. The United Kingdom sent a team of more than 50 athletes. Alongside the competitions, Bishkek will host presentations, round tables, academic meetings and ethnographic festivals, as well as displays of reconstructed nomadic settlements.
