What is Olympic Day? Find out about the annual day celebrating the Olympic Movement
Olympic Day commemorates the founding of the International Olympic Committee on 23 June 1894 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. What is the theme for Olympic Day 2023? And how can you get involved?
What and when is Olympic Day?
Olympic Day is a celebration of sport, health, and being together. It invites everyone around the globe to be active and move together with purpose on 23 June every year.
Participants from all over the world will commemorate the day the International Olympic Committee was founded at the Sorbonne in Paris, where Pierre de Coubertin rallied the revival of the Ancient Olympic Games on 23 June 1894.
It represents making the world a better place through sport.
Olympic Day celebrations can be traced all the way back to 1947.
Doctor Gruss, a Czech IOC member, presented the idea of a world Olympic day at the 41st Session of the International Olympic Committee in Stockholm, Sweden, which would set aside a day to celebrate everything that the Olympic Movement stands for.
A few months later the project got the nod at the 42nd IOC Session in St Moritz, Switzerland, in January 1948. The National Olympic Committees were put in charge of organising this event and the date celebrates a special moment in the history of the Olympic Movement.
What is the theme of Olympic Day 2023?
The theme of this year's Olympic Day is 'Let's Move' which aims to inspire people around the world to make time for daily physical activity.
While the world is moving faster than ever, people are moving less with research showing over 80 per cent of young people fail to reach the daily activity level recommended for optimum mental and physical health.
This 23 June is the start of a new global movement to make time to move.
"On Olympic Day, we celebrate the Olympic Movement's mission to make the world a better place through sport," said IOC President Thomas Bach.
"When we do sport, it keeps our mind and body strong and healthy. When we do sport, it inspires us to always give it our best and it makes us dream, it spreads joy and brings us together. This year, together with the WHO, we are highlightinG the positive impacts sport has on both physical and mental health. We want to inspire the world to move more every day. Sport and physical activity are the low-cost, high-impact tool for healthy bodies and healthy minds and resilient communities."
When was the first Olympic Day?
The first ever Olympic Day was celebrated on 23 June 1948.
Portugal, Greece, Austria, Canada, Switzerland, Great Britain, Uruguay, Venezuela and Belgium organised an Olympic Day in their respective countries and Sigfrid Edström, IOC President at the time, relayed a message to the young people of the world.
In the 1978 edition of the Olympic Charter, the IOC recommended for the first time that all NOCs organise an Olympic Day to promote the Olympic Movement.
Currently, the Olympic Charter reads: “It is recommended that NOCs regularly organise – if possible each year – an Olympic Day or Week intended to promote the Olympic Movement.”
What do people do on Olympic Day?
Around five million individuals are expected to take part in worldwide activities to mark Olympic Day and celebrate the values of Solidarity, Inclusion and Sustainability.
Everybody can be part of it, why not join the fun?
On 23 June 2023 everybody has the unique opportunity to join Olympic athletes and people from all corners of the world in a fun, inclusive 30-minute workout which will be available on Olympics.com and across our social channels @Olympics.
You can get your Olympic Invite and move your body alongside Pau Gasol, Allyson Felix, Logan Martin, PV Sindhu, Yusra Mardini and more.
National Olympic Committees are also getting creative worldwide with their Olympic Day events to engage everybody – regardless of age, gender, social background or sporting ability.
Some countries have even incorporated the event into the school curriculum.
These days many people organise Olympic Day runs all over the world to celebrate, including one in the Olympic Capital of Lausanne, where the IOC is based.
First launched in 1987, the run was about encouraging all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to celebrate Olympic Day and promoting the practice of mass sport.
It's been a huge success, growing from 45 participating NOCs in the first edition, to more than a hundred participating NOCs.
Why not look up your nearest Olympic Day run? Or otherwise, simply get active with your friends – or even by yourself.
And if you do take part in any activity tag @olympics on social media with the hashtags #Letsmove and #OlympicDay.