World Nomad Games in Türkiye draw nearly 1 million visitors

By Mustafa Yilmaz

BURSA, Türkiye (AA) - Nearly a million people attended the 2022 World Nomad Games in Türkiye, its organizers said Sunday

"The games' venue was swarmed by (roughly) a million visitors. The place was especially very crowded yesterday (Saturday), Hakan Kazanci, chairman of the games' organizing committee, told reporters.

The lakeside town of Iznik in northwestern Bursa province hosted the four-day competition through Sunday following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kazanci said the event's opening ceremony featured Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In addition to the sporting events, visitors also enjoyed concerts and had the chance to sample local cuisines.

Kazanci confirmed that the fifth World Nomad Games will be held in Kazakhstan in 2024 and Türkiye may host the event again in 10 years.

Kyrgyzstan hosted the first, second and third editions of the games in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

The Deputy Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the Games, Abdulhadi Turus, said the games also enriched Türkiye's economy, culture and socio-culture.

Turus added that nearly 100,000 foreign visitors attended the games.

The closing ceremony was held Sunday evening with Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports Mehmet Kasapoglu and World Ethnosport Confederation (WEC) President Necmeddin Bilal Erdogan taking part.

Erdogan said that with the games, Türkiye conveyed a message of peace and unity to the whole world, which needs peace as it faces wars, conflicts and environment crises.

The mission of the games is to preserve the ethnoculture, diversity and originality of the people to "foster a more tolerant and open relationship between people," the World Nomad Games said on its website.

The traditional Turkic games featured at least 3,000 athletes from 102 countries and included horse competitions, wrestling and archery.