World Nomad Games 2026 in Kyrgyzstan: Goat polo is coming home

Modern stadiums have been invented for an opening ceremony like this: while a huge animation of the Alatoo Mountains shines in the background, dozens of riders circle hundreds of nomadic costumed dancers. In addition to the approximately 2,000 athletes from the participating nations, animated, house-sized snow leopards, bears and deer walk through the arena. The phrase “no expense or effort was spared” has rarely been as appropriate as at the opening of the World Nomad Games 2026. The stadium is also one of them. The Bishkek Arena, shaped like a stylized Kyrgyz yurt, was completed just the day before the games and, with 51,000 seats, is now the largest sports stadium in Central Asia.

The World Nomad Games are a Kyrgyz invention and were taking place for the sixth time until last Sunday. The focus is on the nomadic heritage as well as sports such as mounted archery, strategy and skill games with sheep bones and various wrestling disciplines. The most attention in the algorithms and on site was given to Kök Börü: a mix of polo and rugby in which two mounted teams wrestle over a goat carcass. With slightly different rules, the sport is practiced professionally, especially in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

After stops in Turkey and Kazakhstan, the games are back in the motherland - and yet nothing is like the first time in 2014. The Kyrgyz political scientist Dr. Arzuu Sheranova examined the impact of major cultural events in the country. For them, the 2026 Games are more important than ever before: "The Kyrgyz government has invested enormously in these games and the associated infrastructure. This is also reflected in social media, where the spectacular opening was shared tens of thousands of times. Due to the many tourists on site, these images are also reflected in other algorithms." According to Sheranova's observations, under the current regime attention is also being paid to identity formation: "The use of nomadic imagery has become widespread in people's everyday lives in recent years."

It is therefore not surprising that this year, in addition to 43 sporting disciplines, there was a much larger cultural program. From the yurt building competition, in which teams from Kyrgyzstan competed against each other to set up the traditional nomad tent under time pressure, to the “Nomadvision Song Contest”, which was held every evening in the hippodrome.

While the last World Nomad Games in Kazakhstan seemed like a sober major event, the Kyrgyz interpretation was more reminiscent of a nomadic Disneyland. Against the backdrop of Issyk-Kul, one of the largest mountain lakes in the world, the main attractions, including horse racing and the aforementioned goat polo, took place in two hippodromes. An hour away, in a picturesque valley, a festival area stretching over several kilometers with hundreds of yurts and two ethnic bazaars was built using traditional clay construction.

In addition to a lot of folklore, it also became clear that international understanding about the sport is possible: During mounted archery, the athletes cheered each other and talked shop about shooting techniques. It was one of the few sports in which European participants had a chance of winning. In the end, the Frenchman Raphaël Malet won the men's race and Hanna Décsei from Hungary won the women's race.

According to political scientist Sheranova, the World Nomad Games were conceived from the start as an identity-building project. They were also useful for President Sadyr Japarov, who has been in power since 2021, to make a name for himself. His balance sheet is assessed differently. For Hugh Wiliamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, Japarov is a staunch nationalist and populist: “Under his aegis, the situation of human rights, the rule of law and freedom of expression in the country has rapidly deteriorated,” says Williamson.

In Kyrgyzstan, the opposition has been largely eliminated over the last five years and investigative media such as the Kloop platform have been banned as extremist organizations. After the World Nomad Games, Kloop published research that questioned the alleged construction costs for the Bishkek Arena - with the disclaimer that sharing or liking the post on Instagram could have criminal consequences.

If you talk to locals around the World Nomad Games, not a bad word will pass their lips. Retired boxing trainer Toktaly, for example, points to the newly tarred streets and speaks of the booming tourism in the region. He proudly says: “Even Belarusian President Lukashenka said that he would not have experienced anything like that at the Olympic Games in Paris.”

In fact, a lot has happened in Kyrgyzstan: the infrastructure, which often dates back to Soviet times, has been renewed, the tax system has been reformed and the digitalization of the administration has been pushed forward. It is unclear how sustainable the recovery is and where the money for it comes from.

One thing is certain: Chinese investments are playing an increasingly important role. The opening of the World Nomad Games was coincided with the 25th anniversary summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Bishkek. “President Japarov wanted to use the event to present his new Kyrgyzstan internally and externally,” says political scientist Sheranova. And so, after the summit, the “who’s who” of authoritarianism was driven to the Bishkek stadium with media attention.

China's head of state Xi was missing because of the flood disaster in Tibet, as it was said, but Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, Iran's President Masud Peseschkian, India's Narendra Modi and, last but not least, Russian President Vladimir Putin were able to be welcomed live by Japarov and the First Lady in front of a large TV audience.

The key for the next World Nomad Games was symbolically passed on to Putin: they are scheduled to take place in Kazan in the autonomous Republic of Tatarstan in 2028. People in Russia are already familiar with sportswashing.