The eighth Ethnosport Culture Festival will return to Istanbul next week, bringing together traditional sports, music, handicrafts and cultural performances from across the Turkic world and beyond in what organizers describe as a growing platform for global cultural dialogue.
The festival, organized by the World Ethnosport Confederation, will take place between May 21-24 at Atatürk Airport National Garden.
Speaking at the festival’s promotional meeting in Istanbul on Friday, World Ethnosport Confederation President Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan said the event has evolved into an internationally recognized cultural gathering that attracts more than one million visitors annually.
“Since the day we were founded, we have viewed traditional sports and games as more than just sporting activities,” Erdoğan said. “They are a reflection of our ancient culture and a series of living values.”
He said the organization now includes 52 member institutions from 30 countries and continues efforts to revive traditional sports and cultural practices that risk being forgotten.
“As humanity, we see every opportunity that brings us closer together as a chance,” Erdoğan said, adding that the festival seeks to strengthen mutual respect, solidarity and cultural understanding at a time of increasing global polarization.
The four-day event will feature athletes, artists and performers from countries including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Japan, Spain, Lithuania, Russia, Palestine, Morocco and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Traditional sports demonstrations will range from oil wrestling and mounted archery to kokboru, horseback javelin and regional wrestling disciplines from across Central Asia and the Caucasus. Organizers said visitors will also experience traditional games such as Ripka from Lithuania, Lapta from Russia and Azerbaijan’s Zorkhana for the first time.
Erdoğan described Istanbul as uniquely positioned to host such an event because of Türkiye’s ability to maintain dialogue with countries and cultures across regions.
“Türkiye maintains its role as a country that can talk to everyone in a period where there is so much grouping and conflict in the world,” he said.
The festival will also place a strong emphasis on children and families, with dedicated play areas, workshops and cultural activities designed to encourage children to engage with traditional games and spend more time outdoors.
“We want children to go outside and play, to live their culture,” Erdoğan said. “Children prefer meaningful and educational activities when they are offered to them.”
Organizers said more than 500,000 students are expected to visit the festival during its first two days through coordinated school programs.
This year’s event will additionally include a “Solidarity Camp” aimed at raising awareness about humanitarian crises, particularly the war in Gaza. Talks, workshops and awareness activities organized with civil society groups will be held throughout the festival.
“We are bringing the oppression in Gaza to the forefront,” Erdoğan said. “We envision a world where all children can live safely and happily with their families.”
The festival will also feature concerts and performances from international music groups and artists, including Japan’s Nippon Taiko Group, Kazakh folk ensembles and performers from Egypt, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan. Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen is also expected to participate.
Alongside sports and performances, visitors will be able to experience traditional handicrafts and cuisines from a wide geography stretching from Central Asia to Latin America. Uzbek pilaf and ashure will be served daily during the event.
Erdoğan said the confederation is also preparing for Ethnosport 2027, envisioned as a large-scale international gathering for traditional sports modeled after a global sporting event.
“We are working to organize what could become the Olympics of traditional sports,” he said.
