Communities around the globe get active to celebrate Olympic Day
Today – 23 June – is Olympic Day! Spurred on by the Olympic Movement, young and old in all corners of the world are being active and taking part in Olympic fun runs and walkathons, sports demonstrations, initiations and competitions, musical and crafts activities or chats with champions.
From the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to National Olympic Committees (NOCs), International and National Sports Federations, Organising Committees of Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, athletes, Young Ambassadors and local communities, millions of people across the globe are joining the movement in celebration of the birth of the modern Olympic Games and to promote a healthy and active lifestyle.
Sport in motion across the continents
From Angola to Australia, Spain to Uruguay, or Nepal to Greece, nations in all five continents have already been heeding the IOC’s call to be active by staging educational, cultural and physical activities to get people moving as well as spread the Olympic values in the lead-up to 23 June.
The Caribbean island of Barbados, for instance, sought the support of a variety of national sports federations and invited cyclists, runners, walkers, young locals and Paralympians to take part in an Olympic Day race and try out a score of Olympic sports. The celebrations, which took place last weekend, also included a national team fitness challenge.
Similarly, the Mauritius Olympic Committee mobilised the local community at Chamouny for an Olympic Fun Day on 19 June, kick-starting a whole week of fun activities and sporting demonstrations including fencing and archery initiations for children and their family.
With just over a month to go until South America hosts its first Olympic Games, Olympic Day celebrations have had a special buzz about them this year. Across the Atlantic in Ukraine, sports lovers had a chance to get a taste for Brazilian culture, from carnival to capoeira workshops. Over 5,000 people took part in the celebrations and cheered on their Olympians and athletes preparing for Rio 2016. The event also kicked of the NOC’s campaign “Olympic Day on the Road to Rio”.
Continuing in this fiesta atmosphere, Guatemala saw some 6,000 or so cheerful enthusiasts of all ages participate in an Olympic Day run in the capital. On-hand to signal the start of the race was Guatemala’s Olympic silver medallist at London 2012 and Rio-bound racewalker Erick Barrondo. The NOC also extended celebrations for the first time to the northernmost region of the country, in Peten.
Down Under, Australian Olympians will be out in force today visiting primary and secondary schools across the country to talk about their experience at the Olympic Games, participating in sports activities and highlighting the positive impact sport has had on their lives.
And there is more to come!
A flurry of activity on #OlympicDay
In addition to the multitude of activities taking place across the continents, the IOC’s digital platforms have been in Olympic Day mode. Reaching out to its millions of fans, we are inviting them to show how and why they get active. With the support of IFs, NFs and NOCs, thousands of people have been sharing their #OlympicDay sporting moments on social media platforms. Check out olympicdaycontest.olympic.org for all the latest action!
Our global Young Ambassadors have also been showing their support for Olympic Day. Not only are they getting active for Olympic Day, or trying to get their peers to be active, or spreading the Olympic values in their communities, but in true ambassador fashion, they are also doing so with YOG flare.
Watch this video courtesy of Stefan Janisch, the Young Ambassador from Austria!