NOC Kazakhstan joined the celebration of the International Olympic Day

On 23 June, Kazakhstan joined the annual the Olympic Day celebration. In particular, a large sports festival was held in Nur-Sultan and Almaty.

In the capital, the Olympic Day celebration started at 09.00 in the Central Park “Stolichny”. The event was attended by the Vice-Minister of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yeldos Ramazanov, the director of the Sports Department of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan Elsiyar Kanagatov, but the most important attendees were young athletes.

“Happy International Olympic Day everyone! Kazakhstan actively celebrates the Olympic Day and this year we celebrate it for the 26th time. The meaning of this day is the promotion of the values of the Olympic movement among the population, sports and a healthy lifestyle propaganda. We are happy to see young athletes at the festival. I wish you all sports victories,” said Vice-Minister of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan Yeldos Ramazanov.

“Today the whole country celebrates the International Olympic Day. The Olympic movement in our country is now developing dynamically, and thanks to the NOC Kazakhstan, thanks to the constant support of Timur Kulibayev, and the Ministry of Culture and Sports is supported at all levels. The whole world is celebrating a big sports festival. Next year is the year of the Olympics in Tokyo and we are happy to see at our celebration representatives of the Japanese Embassy, who shared the traditions of the Japanese culture with us “, – said the head of the Sports Department of NOC Kazakhstan Elsiyar Kanagatov.

The next Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo, so this year the Embassy of Japan in Kazakhstan joined the celebration of the Olympic Day. They prepared the Iaido performance of 7th Dan master Nobukazu Onishi. Besides, all participants in the Olympic Day festival had a chance to familiarize with the culture and traditions of the Japanese people and a little dive into the atmosphere of the upcoming Games. In particular, Japanese masters conducted master classes on dressing kimono and Japanese calligraphy.

“I am very glad that we are a part of this festival. I sincerely congratulate all of you. Next year we will have the Olympics in Japan. Your athletes and our athletes are going the best in order to take part in the Games. I wish you good luck. Today we would like to introduce you to our culture a bit, we prepared several master classes aimed to this,” said Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Tatsuhiko Kasai.

A special warm-up was held with the instructors of the Fitness Park Nur-Sultan team. The Olympic day was completed by master classes in boxing, jiu-jitsu, zumba, yoga and cross-fit.

“I learned about this holiday two years ago. Everything was great. Organization was at the top-level. Children had fun. We had a warm-up session, which was very fun. What is the Olympic Games? This is when champions come from all countries and oppose each other. I would also like to take part in the Olympics. I want to become a champion of Kazakhstan. Sport is my life. I have been practicing artistic gymnastics for eight years. Now I am 11. I took part in tournaments in Nur-Sultan, in Taraz, in Almaty. I cannot live without sports “, – said the young gymnast Damilya Isanova.

The traditional bike ride kicked off the streets of the southern capital. The participants started from the corner of Toraigyrov and Sain streets to the Central Stadium. After the finish cyclists held a traditional prize draw.

All participants of the Olympic Day were awarded diplomas signed by the head of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach and the president of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan Timur Kulibayev.

Great support in the organization of events was provided by akimats of Nur-Sultan and Almaty.