NAADAM OPENING CEREMONIES

 

Naadam is the annual festival in Mongolia. It is celebrated all over the country but the biggest festival is in Ulaanbaatar. It is like the Olympics but only three sports are contested: wrestling, archery, and horse racing. We were fortunate to be able to attend the opening ceremonies--full of color and pageantry.

The ceremonies were an excuse for everyone to dress in their best and to see and be seen.
As people in costume began to come in we knew that this was going to be a big show.		The sun was hot and the VIP seats were a forest of colorful sunshades.
Hey, this boy and Jeremy have the same hat!  Who looks better in it?		The stewards arranged the horsehead fiddle orchestra, which numbered well over a hundred musicians.
Now that is what you call event security--who's going to argue with him?		But it was all good fun as well.
They even had the audience doing card tricks--the Mongolian flag and (surprise!) - a ger!
Adults, teenagers, kids - everyone got into the act.		The littlest archer
VIDEO (3:43): Opening ceremony.  This was an incredible elaborate undertaking with thousands of people participating. There was music and dance and a strong emphasis on the glories of the Chinggis Khan era. As one of our group said, "Eat your heart out, Beijing."
The arrival of the Spirit Banners--the white banner associated with Chinggis Khan.		Like the Olympic flame, the banners would remain in the stadium with an honor guard for the entire festival.
Dancing girls.		Chinggis Khan's army
Included in the parade were the flags of all the countries that have embassies in Mongolia.