Mongolian
On February 7, Prime Minister of Mongolia G.Zandanshatar attended the opening ceremony of the “Thousand Camels Festival” during his working visit to Umnugovi aimag and delivered an address.
In his speech, the Prime Minister stated that Mongolia’s camel population has reached half a million. According to the 2025 national livestock census, 501,300 camels were counted. He noted that the figure has doubled over the past twenty years, rising from 254,000, and emphasized that this growth is the result of herders’ sustained efforts and is closely linked to the Camel Festival.
The “Thousand Camels Festival,” now recognized as a key winter tourism event, was first organized in 1997 in Sevrei soum of Umnugovi aimag. At the time, the camel population had significantly declined, with just over 200,000 camels recorded nationwide until 2002. The festival was initiated as part of efforts to increase camel numbers and promote the winter Gobi as a tourism destination, a goal that organizers say has since been achieved.
This year’s festival has brought together camel herders from more than 60 soums across four aimags, participating with over 1,000 camels. According to organizers, approximately 8,000 spectators attended the event, including more than 200 international tourists.
Festival activities included camel races in four age categories, a camel parade, a fermented camel milk celebration, a photography exhibition, and competitions recognizing the best camel pair as well as outstanding breeding male and female camels. Additional events featured camel polo and mounted archery competitions.
Several camel-related records have been set during the history of the festival. In 2016, a world record was established with a race involving 1,108 camels. In 2024, a national honorary title recognizing distinguished camel trainers was introduced. This year, President U. Khurelsukh proclaimed January 24 as the annual “Mongol Camel Day.”
