Fifth Ethnosport Culture Festival to begin Thursday in Istanbul

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - The fifth Ethnosport Culture Festival is set to start Thursday in Istanbul.

Organized by the World Ethnosport Federation, it will be held at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport from June 9 to 12 and will begin with an opening ceremony at 0800GMT at the Equestrian Sports Field.

The festival will open its doors to visitors, where Turkish cities are introduced, oba life comes to life in clay tents, handicraft workshops and activities with many shows taking place.

The four-day event will include mounted archery, wrestling, horse riding, oil wrestling, and other traditional Turkish and Central Asian sports.

More than a 1,000 participants from 26 countries will be featured with a dazzling array of traditional cuisines from across the globe for visitors to savor.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to learn about traditional sports and games as well as nature and animal communication during the festival.

- Special events for disadvantaged groups at festival

The festival will offer accessible opportunities for disadvantaged groups with hippotherapy, a barbecue tournament for the visually impaired, workshops and events staged by disabled artists.

The Ethnosport Culture Festival is sponsored by Turkish Airlines, Turk Telekom, Vakif Participation Bank and Spor Toto. It will make its return following a two-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic.