The Pan-Armenian Games are a multi-sport event. It is held between cultural Armenian competitors from the Armenian Diaspora and Armenia. The game includes various competitions both in individual and team sports played among the Armenian athletes. It takes place in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Ancient Olympic Games, an information providing website, brings to you the most exciting facts and incidents about the Pan-Armenian Games.
The proposal for holding Pan-Armenian Games was first thought by Soviet diplomat Ashot Melik-Shahnazaryan. He was the first to have of the idea of organizing universal games for all Armenians whereas he was on a business trip in 1965 to Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, getting ready to participate in the first Pan-African Games. But since then Armenia was a Soviet republic and that it was considered by Moscow to be nationalistic, Shahnazaryan had to hang around waiting for Armenia to attain independence to try and put forth his idea.
The Pan-Armenian Games are a sort of multifarious sporting competitions in individual and team among the various athletes of the Republic of Armenia and athletes of Armenian origin from other countries. The athletes coming from various parts of the world embody the cities in which they originate from and not countries like other pan-games. The Pan-Armenian Games is mainly held in Yerevan, Armenia. The different sports that are played during the games are football, mini-football, basketball, volleyball, swimming, badminton, tennis, table tennis, chess and athletics.
The first Pan-Armenian Games took place from August 28, 1999 to September 5, 1999. Various delegates from 62 cities and 23 countries participated in the games. The second Pan-Armenian Games took place in 2001 which was followed by the third one in 2003.
In 2003 Pan-Armenian Games, it was decided to make over the Games into once every four years while celebrating it for once every two years. The fourth Pan-Armenian Games took place in 2007. The decision that was taken was then subsequently reversed, and the dates for the 2009 games are supposed to be held from 8 to 16 August.