The sixth edition of the World Nomad Games kicked off in Bishkek on Thursday, with a colourful ceremony at the Bishkek Arena setting the stage for what organisers call the largest competition yet. More than 100 national teams from every continent are taking part, and the opening was watched by a high-profile audience that included 21 heads of state, among them the leaders of China, India and Russia.
The presence of Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin was tied to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, which is being held in the Kyrgyz capital. The convergence of the two events gave the games an unusual diplomatic dimension, with the Eurasian leaders' meeting effectively doubling as a backdrop to the sporting festivities.
Often described as the "nomadic Olympics," the games were first held in Kyrgyzstan in 2014. The United Nations has since recognised them as a platform for intercultural dialogue and sustainable development. This year's edition, which opened on Kyrgyzstan's independence day, features 43 disciplines spanning ancient sports and traditional intellectual contests, most rooted in the cultures of the Central Asian steppe, where they served both as military training and as social events where young men could demonstrate strength, skill and endurance.
Equestrian events at the heart of the programme
Horse racing is the centrepiece of the games. Races run over six, ten and eleven kilometres, with distance valued over speed in Central Asian horse culture, where breeds are prized for their capacity to cover vast ground in a single day. Jockeys can be as young as ten, the official minimum age, while at some domestic competitions they start at seven.
Finishing is an achievement in itself: horses are often exhausted before the line, and winners receive prizes including livestock or vehicles. Alongside flat races, riders compete in the tölt, a four-beat gait in which the legs on each side move together, a natural movement for some breeds but trained in most. Horsemen also take part in wrestling on horseback, team games involving herding animals across a field, and picking objects from the ground at full gallop.
Wrestling and other disciplines
Six styles of national wrestling are represented, from Kyrgyz alysh and Kazakh küresi to Tajik gushtini milli kamarbandi, Turkmen goresh and Turkish ashyrtmaly aba güreşi. Archery, tug of war, arm wrestling and weightlifting are among the disciplines that have drawn in countries far outside Central Asia's nomadic belt.
Women compete across several disciplines including archery and certain strength events. Organisers stress that women were historically capable riders and warriors in nomadic societies.
The traditional core nations — Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, China and Russia, which sends teams from the constituent republics of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and Tuva — are joined this year by a notably expanded list of newcomers. Australia, New Zealand, Algeria, Burundi, Gambia, Jordan, Egypt, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Oman, Uganda, Ethiopia and North Macedonia are among those competing for the first time. The UK has sent a team of more than 50 athletes.
Alongside the competition, dozens of presentations, round tables and academic gatherings will examine the history and culture of the steppe. The games, which run until the end of the week, are a reminder of the enduring appeal of nomadic traditions in a region that is increasingly at the centre of global geopolitics.
