On Saturday, 26 August 2023, the Royal Thai Embassy in Astana, together with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand and its relevant agencies, Team Thailand in Astana, the Muaythai Federation of Kazakhstan, and ASEAN Embassies in Kazakhstan jointly organized the event “Muaythai & ASEAN Cultural Fair” at Khan Shatyr, Astana, Kazakhstan. The event was aimed at promoting Thailand and Thai culture, especially, Muaythai, as well as commemorating the 56th ASEAN Day in August 2023. The event also coincided with the 25th year, or "Silver Jubilee" anniversary of Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, which has "Sister City" relationship with Bangkok.

 

There were several activities being held during the event, comprising 4 out of "5F" (Fighting / Food / Fashion / Festival) and the exhibition of food and products and tourism promotion of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Viet Nam. There were also the showcase of Muaythai equipments and the Muaythai masterclasses for Kazakh children. The event’s highlight was the 6 matches of Muaythai Championship between Thai and Kazakh professional boxers.

 

“Muaythai & ASEAN Cultural Fair” was completed with a great achievement. The grand finale of the event, the Muaythai Championship, attracted thousands of people on all floors of Khan Shatyr, the landmark shopping mall of Astana. The matches were also broadcasted "live" by Qazsport TV, a national sport TV channel of Kazakhstan, which increased the viewership in Kazakhstan, all countries in Central Asia region, and lower part of the Russian Federation. The footage the Muaythai Championship will also be broadcasted in Thailand at a later stage.