A solemn opening ceremony of the 2nd CIS Games was held in the capital of Belarus, in Minsk Arena.

Minsk Arena met the President of Belarus with special applause, who came to the opening of the 2nd CIS Games. Alexander Lukashenko, addressing the athletes and fans present in the hall, as well as all the spectators who watched the broadcast of the opening of the Games on TV or the Internet, said many significant words, touching on the most pressing issues. The Head of state wished good luck to the athletes and declared the 2nd CIS Games open.

Guests from more than 20 countries arrived in Belarus for the Games. Participants of the ceremony dressed in national costumes addressed the audience, and some stands were decorated with the flags of the countries participating in the Games.

Spectators especially liked the traditional symbolic passage of the participating teams. The Uzbekistan delegation also walked around the arena. The ceremony hosts loudly announced, under the applause of those present, in the past Games, the Uzbekistan team won the 2-team place after the hosts – the strongest team of Russia, having collected many medals. This time Uzbekistan is represented by one of the most prominent athletes delegations, meaning that more than 320 of Uzbekistan’s athletes set the highest goals for themselves. And most importantly, just today, Uzbekistan’s athletes won 9 medals – 4 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze.

The solemn ceremony ended with lighting the symbolic fire of the 2nd CIS Games. The honorary right was entrusted to the young gymnast Alexandra Zubovich and to the three-time bronze medalist of the world championships in rhythmic gymnastics Anastasiia Salos and the multiple world and European champion in sambo Yury Rybak. Before lighting the fire, the athletes, coaches, and judges of the 2nd CIS Games took an oath.

Competitions are held in Belarus on 4-14 August in 20 sports. More than 2.2 thousand athletes are taking part in them. The sports forum is notable because it takes place not only in Minsk, but also in different regions.

Gayrat Khonnazarov, photos by Yoqubjon Melibayev, UzA

Minsk, Belarus