In autumn 2014, the first World Nomad Games were held on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. A new international project was taking its first steps, and no one yet knew what the future would hold.
OCA Magazine, published in London since 2009, became a media partner of the inaugural Games. We dedicated the cover of Issue 17 to this historic event. A vivid photograph of kok-boru took centre stage, accompanied by the headline: “First World Nomad Games Launched in Kyrgyzstan”.
The same issue featured a report by international journalist Christopher Schwartz, entitled “The Beginning of a Nomadic Olympics?”
Our correspondent reported directly from Cholpon-Ata and the Kyrchyn Gorge. He introduced English-speaking readers to kok-boru, kurosh wrestling, the opening ceremony, performances by Gulzada Ryskulova and Atai Omurzakov, and a world record for the fastest construction of a traditional yurt. The Kyrgyz team completed the task in just 16 minutes and 14 seconds.
Even then, OCA Magazine asked whether the Games could become a true Olympics for the nomadic peoples of the world.
Twelve years later, the answer is clear.
The World Nomad Games have grown into a major international movement. Hosted by Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and Kazakhstan, they have brought together thousands of athletes, craftspeople, performers, journalists and visitors from dozens of countries.
From 31 August to 6 September 2026, Kyrgyzstan will host the VI World Nomad Games. The Games are returning to their historic homeland.
And OCA Magazine is heading there once again.
We are returning to the place where, in 2014, we began documenting the Games for an international audience. We will meet a new generation of heroes and preserve the next chapter of this remarkable story.
Journalism records the present. With time, its pages become historical testimony.
OCA Magazine and the World Nomad Games.
The story continues.
