Kanyshai Butun
11 July 2026•Update: 11 July 2026
- Festival dating more than 1,000 years traces roots to military traditions of Genghis Khan, with wrestling, horse racing, archery once used to train Mongol warriors
Mongolia will hold its biggest national celebration, the Naadam Festival, from July 11-13 in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, bringing together centuries-old sporting traditions, cultural performances and ceremonies celebrating the country’s nomadic heritage.
The annual festival attracts thousands of participants and visitors from across Mongolia and abroad. This year’s celebration is dedicated to the 2,235th anniversary of the founding of the Mongolian state and the 820th anniversary of the Great Mongolian state. It will also coincide with World Horse Day on July 13 at Khui Doloon Khudag, near Ulaanbaatar, where delegates from more than 50 countries are expected for events promoting equestrian culture and the heritage of nomadic civilizations.
What is Naadam?
Naadam, or Eriin Gurvan Naadam ("The Three Manly Games"), is Mongolia's biggest national festival. It centers on three traditional sports: wrestling, horse racing and archery.
Mongolian wrestling, one of the festival's oldest events, has been practiced for thousands of years. Unlike many forms of wrestling, it has no weight classes or time limits. Before each bout, judges introduce competitors with praise songs as wrestlers perform the ritual eagle (devekh) dance.
A wrestler wins when an opponent touches the ground with any body part other than the hands or feet, depending on the style. Winners perform the eagle dance again, receive a gesture of respect from the defeated wrestler and circle the ceremonial banner. As they advance through the tournament, they earn honorary titles ranging from Hawk and Falcon to Elephant, Garuda, Lion and Champion.
Horse racing reflects Mongolia's nomadic heritage, where children learn to ride from an early age. During Naadam, horses race over long cross-country courses grouped by age rather than by the jockeys. The riders, typically aged 5-13, encourage their horses by singing traditional giingo songs, while praise songs honor the winning horses.
Archery is contested in three traditional styles, each with different equipment and target distances, and is the only event open to women. Competitors shoot 40 arrows at zurkhai, targets made of stacked leather cylinders, with men shooting from 75 meters (246 feet) and women from 65 meters. Archers perform the traditional hurai chant before shooting, after successful hits and while scores are recorded.
Together, the three sports embody Mongolia's nomadic traditions and have been passed down through generations.
Held each summer, Naadam also features music, dance and traditional arts. Alongside the competitions, the festival showcases traditional cuisine, including khuushuur, fried meat-filled pastries, and airag, fermented mare’s milk, as well as handicrafts, long-song singing, khoomei throat singing, biyelgee folk dance and performances on the morin khuur, or horsehead fiddle.
Origins of Naadam Festival
Naadam traces its origins back more than 1,000 years and is closely linked to Mongolia’s military traditions during the era of Genghis Khan, founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire.
The three competitions were used to develop and assess the skills of warriors, with wrestling testing strength, archery measuring accuracy and horse racing demonstrating horsemanship and endurance.
According to some historical accounts, Genghis Khan held the games after unifying the Mongol tribes in the early 13th century to celebrate his victories.
Evidence of the festival’s early roots is often linked to the Stele of Genghis Khan, a 13th-century monument bearing the earliest known Mongolian inscription. The inscription records that the nobleman Yesunge hit a target with an arrow from more than 500 meters away, illustrating the importance of archery in Mongol society.
Following Mongolia’s independence in 1921, Naadam evolved from military training into a nationwide celebration of statehood and national identity.
Naadam remains Mongolia's largest national festival and a three-day public holiday. The main celebrations take place each July in Ulaanbaatar, provinces, and local communities hold festivals throughout the summer.
The festival is widely regarded as Mongolia's foremost expression of its nomadic heritage. In 2010, UNESCO inscribed Naadam on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
