World Nomad Games

What it is

The World Nomad Games are a competition in which athletes from many countries meet to take part in sports that grew out of nomadic life in Central Asia. They are held every second year. Since the first meeting in 2014, more than seventy countries have sent competitors, and the programme has covered around thirty-seven sports with nomadic roots. Horse racing, wrestling from the saddle, archery on horseback and bone throwing sit alongside wrestling on foot. The event is also a showcase: delegations use it to present their own traditions and sports, so the gathering works as a meeting place for cultures as much as a contest for medals.

How it began

The games grew from the work of Askhat Akibaev, a philanthropist who led several sports federations in Kyrgyzstan. Travel to sporting events abroad, among them gatherings in Japan and Mongolia, gave him the idea of a festival built around his own country's history. He then decided that Kyrgyz culture alone would not draw enough interest, and opened the plan to nomadic peoples elsewhere. Almazbek Atambayev, president of Kyrgyzstan at the time, gave the project state backing and launched the first games in 2014, with the aim of keeping Central Asian nomadic traditions alive and making them better known. He led the Kyrgyz team at the opening ceremonies in 2014 and 2016.

The sports on show

Several of the events come out of herding and hunting life. Alysh is a form of belt wrestling. Salburun brings together falconry, archery from horseback and hunting with a taigan, a Central Asian hunting dog. Shagai is a game of throwing sheep bones, known in Kyrgyzstan as ordo. Kok-boru, called kokpar in Kazakhstan, has riders competing for a goat carcass in a way that resembles buzkashi. Mangala, a Turkish mancala game, features alongside national variants of the same family. At chabysh is the horse race. The programme also lists er enish, toguz korgool and kourach.

Editions and recognition

The first three editions were staged at Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan. The fourth went to Iznik in Turkey in 2022, after the 2020 gathering was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That edition had been drawn up with forty-four sports, later cut to twelve sports plus eleven exhibition sports. Astana in Kazakhstan hosted the fifth games, with more than 2,500 athletes from 89 countries. In 2026 the event returned to Kyrgyzstan and ran from 31 August to 6 September. One edition brought over 3,000 athletes from 102 countries. UNESCO recognised the games in 2021 through its intangible cultural heritage programme, holding them up as an example of how living traditions can be safeguarded.

How World Nomad Games is kept

Delegations from the participating countries arrive and are presented at an opening ceremony. Competition then runs over several days across the different sports, from belt wrestling and horse races to archery and board games. National teams compete for medals, and athletes are drawn from more than seventy countries. Alongside the contests, participants use the gathering to present their own traditions and sports to visitors. At the first two editions the president of Kyrgyzstan led the Kyrgyz national team during the opening ceremony.

When and where

The games are held every second year, usually in the late summer. The 2026 edition ran from 31 August to 6 September in Kyrgyzstan. The 2020 games were postponed to 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the gap between editions has not always been exactly two years.

The games belong to Kyrgyzstan, where the first three editions were staged at Cholpon-Ata and where the 2026 edition returned. Kazakhstan has hosted once, in Astana, and Turkey once, at Iznik. Teams travel in from across Central Asia and from many other countries besides.

What World Nomad Games means

For those who take part, the games keep nomadic skills visible in a world where few people still live by herding and moving. Riding, wrestling and hunting contests carry knowledge that families and communities pass down. The organisers also speak of building ties and understanding between peoples of different countries, and of giving small nomadic communities a stage for their own traditions and sports.

Questions people ask about World Nomad Games

See also

Kyz kuuA horse racing game where a man chases a woman to win a kiss or faces her whip if he fails.Hunting with eaglesThe Central Asian tradition of hunting foxes and hares from horseback with golden eagles.ShagaiTraditional ankle bone games and fortune-telling played across Central Asia.KurashCentral Asian traditional upright folk wrestling using cloth belts or towels

Good reading and sources

• Like the Olympics including Genghis KhanDeutsche Welle, Article
• The World Nomad GamesThe Guardian, Article
• Traditional cultural expressions and the World Nomad GamesWIPO, Article
• Nomad games, rediscovering heritage, celebrating diversityUNESCO, Heritage listing
• Like the Olympics including Genghis KhanDeutsche Welle, Article
• The World Nomad GamesThe Guardian, Article
• Traditional cultural expressions and the World Nomad GamesWIPO, Article
• Nomad games, rediscovering heritage, celebrating diversityUNESCO, Article

• World Nomad Games on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.