Brazil prepares to host first-ever Indigenous Olympics

Indigenous peoples from 22 countries are set to attend the first Indigenous Peoples World Games. | Photo: HispanTV

teleSURtv.net (October 22) – The Indigenous Peoples World Games are expected to bring as many as 30,000 people to the Brazilian city of Palmas.

Brazil said Thursday that preparations had been completed for the world’s first Indigenous Peoples World Games.

“In Brazil, 23 (representatives of) Indigenous peoples will participate in this event,” said Antonio Patriota, Brazil’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Set to run from Friday, Oct. 23 through Nov. 1, the games are expected to draw as many as 30,000 people to the Brazilian city of Palmas.

Around 50 ethnic groups from 22 countries are expected to participate, coming from as far as Mongolia and Ethiopia.

RELATED: Brazil to Host First Indigenous Games

The event will feature both competitive sports and non-competitive displays, such as archery, spear throwing, wrestling and canoe racing. Unlike most other major sporting events, the Indigenous games have received relatively little corporate sponsorship.

The games are also being touted as environmentally friendly. Athletes’ accommodations have largely been constructed from renewable resources and organizers say they have a replanting program to make up for the event’s carbon footprint, Carlos Terena of the Intertribal Committee told the Wall Street Journal.

“The whites don’t think this way. They buy one thing, buy another and make it into trash,” he said.

The games are expected to cost as much as US$40 million, with the United Nations Development Program, the city of Palmas and the state of Tocantins all pitching in to support the event.

Entry is free to all.