The VI World Nomad Games kicked off at the Bishkek Arena stadium. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The opening ceremony gathered more than 50,000 spectators, according to the Committee for Sports and Physical Culture of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan. Presidents of 17 countries attended the event.
The state flag of Kazakhstan was carried by world kokpar champion and captain of the national team Turganbek Kurmanbek.
Kazakhstan's team is represented by 152 athletes. Competitions in 43 sports will begin 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 kures and other national disciplines. Part of the competitions will be broadcast live on the Qazsport TV channel.
The department also reminded that in Kazakhstan 11 national sports are classified as priority and equated to Olympic sports. These are kazakh kures, togyz kumalak, kokpar, audaryspak, zhamby atu, baiga, tenge ilu, hunting with birds of prey, asyk atu, traditional archery and zhekpe-zhek.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that President 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.