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27th Summer Diplomatic Games Held on Russia’s National Flag Day
On 22 August, Russia’s National Flag Day,
the 27th Summer Diplomatic Games were held at the Zavidovo Recreation Complex (Tver Region), the affiliate of Main Administration for Service to the Diplomatic Corps (GlavUpDK) under the MFA of Russia.
This year, the program celebrating sport and an active lifestyle was focused on the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia, while the 105th anniversary of GlavUpDK gave us another good reason to meet again.
Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, sent a message of greetings to the organizers, participants and guests of the Games. It was read out by Vyacheslav Fatin, Head of GlavUpDK. “I warmly welcome the participants and guests of the 27th Summer Diplomatic Games. I would like to thank GlavUpDK, which celebrates its 105th anniversary in just a few days, for its continuously high standard of organization. By promoting an active and healthy lifestyle, the Games have been bringing together people from different countries at the welcoming Zavidovo year after year. All of you, friends, are united by your commitment to the enduring values of the Olympic Movement. It is symbolic that this year’s competitions, in which embassy teams compete under their national flags, are being held on Russia’s National Flag Day, in a great sporting nation,” the message read.
Guests at the event were also addressed by Alexey Petukhov, Acting Chairman of the Tver Region Committee for Physical Culture and Sport, sprint skier, Honored Master of Sport of Russia, bronze medalist in the team sprint at the 2010 Olympic Games and 2013 world champion, who read out a message from Vitaly Korolyov, Acting Governor of the Tver Region; and Galina Gorokhova, Chief Referee of the competition, three-time Olympic champion and President of the Russian Union of Athletes. The Olympic oath was sworn on behalf of the judges by Olympic champion and Honored Master of Sport in athletics Lyudmila Kondratyeva, and on behalf of the athletes by Enrique Orta González, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to the Russian Federation.
The opening ceremony also featured a performance by the Special Exemplary Military Band of the Guard of Honor Battalion of Russia and the “Moving Towards the Dream” sports and dance show presented by winners of international and Russian competitions and soloists of Rhythm, Moscow’s leading performance group.
More than 20 teams representing diplomatic missions and international organizations took to the sports grounds at Zavidovo on the day of the Games, joined by teams from the Russian Foreign Ministry, the media, GlavUpDK and its affiliates. Participants faced a record number of events, with competitions held in ten sports. Medals were contested in cross-country running, futsal, volleyball, basketball, crossbow shooting, fishing, tennis, billiards, arm wrestling and chess. The judging panel included Olympic and world champions.
As always, the football tournament attracted the greatest interest. The tournament was won by the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan; the Russian Foreign Ministry team was the runner-up, while the embassies of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Senegal shared the bronze medals.
To mark the 105th anniversary of GlavUpDK, its employees, led by Vyacheslav Fatin, as well as guests of the event, left commemorative messages on a special canvas as part of a masterclass that launched the Eat Well, Relax Well Gastronomic Festival, held as part of the events for the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia in the Russian Federation.
Chefs from the Food Map of Russia project, led by its creator Ekaterina Shapovalova, presented guests with dishes from the country’s national cuisines: Far Eastern fish soup with Kamchatka crab, Altai marbled beef skoblyanka, taiga solyanka soup with cucumber brine, Cossack-style field kulesh and beshbarmak made with Altai marbled beef.
A family quiz, “Symbols of Russia,” was held to mark Russia’s National Flag Day, with the winners receiving commemorative gifts from GlavUpDK and certificates, while everyone could have their face painted in the colors of the tricolor, a symbol of Russia.
The sporting program was complemented by a friendly table tennis tournament, which ran for four hours. The program also included a relay race entitled “105 – and Still Winning” for the GlavUpDK Cup, as well as a fun zone with attractions for adults and children.
Students and lecturers from the Moscow Art-Industrial Institute presented a show of traditional costumes of the peoples of Russia, introducing guests to the country’s rich cultural diversity, while the festive program also featured a performance by the Moscow Cossack Song and Dance Ensemble.
