The grand opening ceremony of the VI World Nomad Games took place at the Bishkek Arena stadium in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, drawing over 50,000 spectators, reports infohub.kz.
The event was attended by presidents of 17 countries. The honor of carrying the Kazakh flag was entrusted to the captain of the national team, world champion in kokpar, Turganbek Kurmanbek.
Kazakhstan's team is represented by 152 athletes. Competitions in 43 sports will start on September 1 and will be held at three sports venues, as well as at the Kyrchyn jailoo in Cholpon-Ata.
The program includes kokpar, kok-boru, Kazakh kuresi, and other national disciplines. Some competitions will be broadcast live on the Qazsport TV channel.
The Committee for Sports and Physical Culture of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan reminded that in the republic, 11 national sports are classified as priority and equated to Olympic sports. These are Kazakh kuresi, togyz kumalak, kokpar, audaryspak, zhamby atu, baiga, tenge ilu, hunting with birds of prey, asyk atu, traditional archery, and zhekpe-zhek.
Earlier it was reported that President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in the official opening ceremony of the VI World Nomad Games in Bishkek. The Games are held in Kyrgyzstan from August 31 to September 6, with about 3,000 athletes from more than 100 countries participating.