Nunavut, Nunavik athletes plant their flags at Arctic Winter Games
Slideshow | Images from Whitehorse Games’ opening ceremony
Team Nunavut enters the Shipyards Park in Whitehorse. Under cheers of about 5,000 people and the sounds of military jets of Canadian Armed Forces doing ceremonial flyover at the opening ceremony of the Arctic Winter Games on Sunday. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
The Arctic Winter Games kicked off in Whitehorse with cheers, military jets and a lot of flags. The purpose of the Games is “uniting the North and celebrating together,” Michael Jay the Fox, the 2026 Games’ official mascot told the crowd of about 5,000 people who gathered at the Whitehorse Shipyards Park on Sunday for the opening ceremony.
The ceremony brought together athletes from eight circumpolar teams – Nunavut, Nunavik, Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Alberta, Greenland and the Sápmi region of Scandinavia. They all made their way to the park with their flags to the cheers of fans and the noise of the Canadian Armed Forces jets that were part of the ceremony.
The opening included cultural performance by Kwanlin Dün First Nation Cultural drummers, singing of O Canada by the Yukon Community Choir and a prerecorded video greeting from Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The Arctic Winter Games have brought together over 2,000 athletes who will compete in 20 different sports. The events run until March 14.
Team Nunavik enters the Shipyards Park in Whitehorse during the opening ceremony of the Arctic Winter Games on March 8. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
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