Mayor of Dushanbe Rustam Emomali has approved the schedule of events for celebrating Nowruz 2025 in the capital, an official source at the Dushanbe Department for Tourism Development told Asia-Plus in an interview.
The city has planned large-scale celebrations during the holiday. Festivities will kick off with the 4th International Forum "Navrouz Dushanbe – Axis of Cultural and Tourist Connections" on March 20. The main Navrouz ceremony will take place on the morning of March 21 at Victory Park, the highest point in Dushanbe, followed by a festive concert on Istiqlol Square.
On March 22, the International Tourism Festival "Navrouz Dushanbe 2025" and the Festival of National Cuisine will take place in Iram Park. Cultural programs and sporting events, including traditional competitions in gushtingiri (traditional Tajik jacket wrestling) and equestrian sports, will also be held across the city during the holiday.
Special attention is being paid to youth-oriented events. Throughout March, Dushanbe will host a Friendship Festival for Youth and various sports tournaments.
The events will span all key venues in the city, including parks and cultural centers in Dushanbe's districts.
“Navrouz 2025 in Dushanbe promises to be a vibrant celebration uniting cultural and national traditions, offering residents and visitors a unique atmosphere of spring renewal," the source said.
He further noted that any changes to the schedule will be announced on social media and through the media.
Preliminary Nowruz 2025 Event Schedule
- 4th International Forum "Nowruz Dushanbe – Axis of Cultural and Tourist Connections" – March 20;
- Main Nowruz Ceremony at Victory Park – Morning of March 21;
- Festive Concert for Nowruz – March 21, Istiqlol Square;
- International Tourism Festival "Nowruz Dushanbe 2025" – March 22, Iram Park;
- Festival of National Cuisine – March 22, Iram Park;
- "Nowruz Sports Games" Festival – Throughout the holiday period;
- Cultural Programs in Dushanbe's districts – March 21-24, in cultural parks across the capital;
- Youth Friendship Festival "Youth – Followers of the Leader of the Nation and Heirs of Nowruz Traditions" – Second half of March (dates and location to be confirmed);
- National Gushtingiri Wrestling Tournament – March (dates and location to be confirme
- Equestrian Competitions and Buzkashi – March (dates and location to be confirmed).
Buzkashi (goat grabbing) is a traditional Central Asian team sport played on horseback. The steppes' people were skilled riders who could grab a goat or calf from the ground while riding a horse at full gallop. The goal of a player is to grab the carcass of a headless goat or calf and then get it clear of the other players and pitch it across a goal line or into a target circle or vat.
Navrouz, which literary means New Day in Persian, Dari and Tajik languages, is the traditional Iranian new year holiday, celebrated by Iranian and many other peoples. It marks the first day of spring and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox (the start of spring in the northern hemisphere), which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. Today, the festival of Navrouz is celebrated in many countries, including Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, as well as Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. Many peoples in West and South Asia, Northeast China, the Crimea, as well as Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia also celebrate this holiday.
In September 2009, the UN's cultural agency, UNESCO, included Navrouz in its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. On February 23, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the International Day of Navrouz.
