Mongolia proudly celebrates NAADAM festival and nomadic culture every year on July 11-15 but this year, due to heightened state of readiness ongoing in the country amid COVID-19 pandemic, the government made a decision to have a digital Naadam celebration.
During the Festival, Mongolians participate in the "Three Manly Games" of archery, wrestling, and horseback riding which represent the heritage of the nation. The festival originated in the 12th century as a way for Mongolians to demonstrate their military prowess. From the 17th century, Naadam contests were held during religious holidays. Since 1922, we have been holding the celebrations on Revolution Day, the anniversary of the People's Revolution. The main Naadam festival takes place in the country's capital Ulaanbaatar at the Sukhbaatar square, with a flag ceremony, which guard soldiers carry the special “9 white banners” to show respect. At the stadium, the ceremony starts with a cultural performance with ethnic dancing and music before the wrestling competition gets underway.
Wrestling is usually the first sport. The main wrestling event is a knockout competition involving 512 wrestlers who are all men.
The second sport is Archery. From the time of Chinggis Khaan, Mongolian archers were famed for their skill and precision with a bow. At its time, the recurved Mongol bow was a weapon without comparison on the Eurasian battlefields of the steppe and deep into Western Europe.
The third sport is horseback riding. Mastery of horse-riding was key to the Mongol domination of the steppe. The nomadic life of the Mongols developed their skills as expert hunters with the horse and bow, which made them formidable opponents. They developed stirrups, which enabled Mongol horsemen to ride without reins, leaving the hands free for combat.
