Organized for the fourth time this year, the World Nomad Games were held in Bursa on 29 September-2 October 2022, hosted by Iznik Municipality. The organization, which was opened by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was attended by approximately 1 million domestic and foreign guests in four days.
In addition to President Erdoğan, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadır Caparov, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ersin Tatar, President of Tatarstan Rüstem Minnihanov, Vice President Fuat Oktay, Minister of Youth and Sports Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu and many high-level participants took part in the Opening Ceremony.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Games, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: “None of us can consent to the disappearance of this culture, which has marked thousands of years of humanity. I believe that these games, which are based on peace, solidarity and cooperation, are a unique cooperation platform at a time when our region is scorched by religious and ethnic conflicts, tensions and crises. I congratulate those who contributed to the organization of the nomadic games that will bring many experiences from sports to art, from gastronomy to traditional sports for our youth and guests. I wish success to our athletes who will compete in the games and to the participants who will take part in other events. I would also like to thank our friends who have supported the survival of these games and leaving them as a legacy for the future with their participation and contribution.”
At the opening ceremony, choreography with the themes of “Alem, Universe and Kün”, “Turks and Horse”, “Nomadic Plays”, “Famous Figures of the Turkish world”, “Turkish History” and “Turkish World” was performed. In the program, which is one of the biggest international events held in Bursa in recent years, the colors of the Turkish world, folklore, clothing, music and game culture were explained.
In the games organized with the motto “We are One from Tradition to the Future!” on the shore of Lake Iznik, more than 3 thousand athletes from 102 countries competed for the medal in 13 branches (Covered Aba Wrestling, Slammed Aba Wrestling, Shalwar Wrestling, Pehlivani, Kuraş, Horse Archery, Traditional Archery, Mas Wrestling, Kazakh Wrestling, Buying Wrestling, Kökbörü, Kökpar, Oil Wrestling and Big Wrestling) for 4 days.
The organization was consisted of events in approximately 40 traditional sports branches, 13 of which were competitions and nearly 30 were demonstrations. In addition, cultural, artistic, traditional sports, gastronomy, handicrafts and children’s games met with the guests.
Minister of Youth and Sports Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu, Minister of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Zhamankulov and Minister of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan Dauren Abayev attended the closing ceremony held after the completion of the games.
Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu, Minister of Youth and Sports, in his speech at the closing ceremony, said: “All together we saw that the winner of these games is brotherhood, the winner of these games is love, the winner of these games is respect, unity and togetherness. None of our athletes deviated a millimeter from this slogan. You have put forth the Turkish world and nomadic culture in the most powerful way within the framework of a nice solidarity. We have taken over this trust from Kyrgyzstan, they brought this trust here. We will transfer it to Kazakhstan. I congratulate them and wish them success in 2024.”
