Thursday, July 11th, 2019 - Naadam Opening Ceremony

The National Stadium in Mongolia holds 10,000 seats, of which 3,500 are reserved for tourists. The tickets for Naadam go on sale two days before the event. This must cause great stress for tour companies - when one knows that one's clients have paid a year in advance and yet the tickets are still uncertain the day before......... when we heard on Wednesday morning that our seats had not yet been procured for the following day, my adrenaline ran high. I did not want to have come all this way to miss the main event! Happily, we were told Wednesday night that they had been purchased, thanks to the black market!

So, Thursday morning found us seated for the opening ceremony, which began with the banners being brought in by the State Guards from the Government Palace in Sükhbaatar Square.

The banners were placed around a pedestal in the arena, where they remained for the next two days. Note the goose-stepping of the guards.

The stadium was big, the seats were tight and the field was scattered with tents and props. Catching this on camera will be a challenge, even with my nice 300 mm zoom lens. There was the added difficulty from the people in front of us putting up umbrellas to protect themselves from the hot sun (a strategy I agreed with completely, apart from its effect on my view!). I was fascinated by these huge tubes the 'men in gold' were handling wondering if hey represented cannon or horns. In the end, I decided they were huge horns, similar to those played by monks in Himalayan monasteries.

It was a busy place down there!

The banners were in place, speeches made, flame was lit.....so it all began.

It unfolded as a re-telling of Mongolian history, from its nomadic roots.

I thought the kids in the basket on the yak were adorable.

Yaks, along with camels are traditional beasts of burden for the Mongolians - but this was the first time I have seen one being ridden. I thought he was a very handsome creature - although I would want to steer clear of those horns!

My favorite equestrian archer - the woman in the white deel - from the previous day's parade showed up again with equal vigor. Seeing the horses coming in at speed was very exciting - the crowd erupted in applause and the excitement was palpable. 

The announcements were in Mongolian, so we had to guess at what was happening, but again, these riders caused a great stir with their stunts and enthusiasm.

In reality, the true heroes of the day were probably the clean up crews. They emerged after each round of animals and swept and scraped the track to remove the droppings. The day's events gave them plenty of work!

A variety of different ground covers were rolled out in the center - new layers were revealed as the ceremony progressed.

There was dancing and singing on the central stage - lots of action!

This man (center) is a famous Mongolian singer. He was recognized as he walked around and received enthusiastic applause. He also sang on the main stage.

The mood shifted significantly when World War One and Two were referenced and the presence of the USSR was represented.

Color and vibrancy melted away - if it wasn't red.

As is the case in many hometown parades, it became a showcase to reveal the services provided by taxpayer dollars. This was no exception - many groups of military and police came by. I appreciated that they even included these women carrying briefcases - one doesn't often see bureaucrats in parades!

Finally, no parade is complete without the firemen. They did not bring in the fire engines, just themselves!

I don't know if this group represented a turn back to Mongolian tradition, but things got a little brighter after their arrival.

I had been watching these women with wheat on their hats prepare for quite some time. It seems they must have signified some type of agricultural revolution. I loved the color of their wheat stalks against the vivid blue of the ground cover.

There was lots more singing and dancing.

A most Mongolian image came from this turtle. If you recall the story from an earlier blog, they are seen as symbols of longevity, wisdom and power. This one, which made its way slowly around the track, was carrying the city of Ulaanbaatar on its back.

Another stir occurred when these contortionists made their way around the track balancing entirely on their hands and these little gyros.

On the main stage, children appeared holding the world in their hands. I inferred this to mean that it conveyed a message a stewardship for future generations - a message that I imagine few could dispute.

The children paraded around the track with joy and hope and the ceremony ended on a positive note. It had been a vibrant, energetic, sumptuous display. I was sorry to not be in a better position to capture better photos, but found it absorbing to do the best I could where I was.

In case you would like to see a video summary, this ten minute clip in Mongolian represents it pretty well. It is not well edited, but was the only one I could find from this year's ceremony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nadh9MpM9I0

I was pleased to leave the heat and discomfort of the stadium to head out for lunch - from one of the many pop-up restaurants surrounding the stadium. Our guide had recommended that we eat the traditional Naadam food - a meat pastry or dumpling popular in Mongolia, called  Khuushuur (pronounced hoorshoor).

As you see here, the filling is made up of a ground meat - here it is lamb or mutton - with onion and spices, which is then wrapped in dough and fried. I thought it was tasty enough, somewhat like a meat pie in its convenience, but happily a lot less messy to eat. However, it did not seem to be up there in its 'healthy' quotient, so it will probably not be added to my menu at home!

The afternoon involved watching the wrestling and archery. More on that in the next blog.