Today, on September 28, the official opening ceremony of the III CIS Games took place at the newly commissioned Ganja stadium with the participation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev.

Offsideplus.az reports that first the State Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan was raised, and then our anthem was played. Then the parade of the participating countries of the III CIS Games took place. The flag of Azerbaijan was carried by karate player Asiman Gurbanli and taekwondo player Zemfira Hasanzade.

Samir Sharifov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the III CIS Games, delivered a speech at the solemn event and greeted the guests, athletes, coaches and sports fans. He noted that 2,400 sports delegations from the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as from Turkey, Pakistan, Oman, Cuba and Kuwait, which are participating in the Games, are participating in the 10-day competitions. “These sports games will be a fair competition based on the criteria of friendship, peace, and mutual respect, and will make a significant contribution to the expansion of cooperation between our countries and peoples, and to the further deepening of relations,” the Chairman of the Committee said.

Then, the Deputy Secretary General of the CIS, Nurlan Seytimov, made a speech. He voiced the appeal of the Secretary General of the CIS, Sergey Lebedev, to the organizers, participants, and guests. N. Seytimov confidently expressed that the III CIS Games will leave a bright mark in the history of the Union’s sports movement and will serve to further strengthen cooperation.

After this, the oath-taking ceremony of the III CIS Games was held. On behalf of the athletes, the captain of the National Chovkan Team, world and European champion Elchin Jamalli, on behalf of the coaches, the head coach of the national freestyle wrestling team Asgarkhan Novruzov, and on behalf of the judges, the international-level judge in rhythmic gymnastics Laman Jabrayilova took the oath.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, officially declared the III CIS Games open. After that, the CIS flag was raised to the sounds of the official song prepared for the III CIS Games.

The opening ceremony continued with an artistic part. The audience watched the magnificent performance of Karabakh horses. In addition, white doves, a symbol of peace, were released into the sky. The opening ceremony ended with a drone show and a magnificent fireworks display.

It should be noted that the closing ceremony of the Games will take place on October 8 at the Ganja Stadium.