Olympic Day 2023: Let’s Move for better health
As the world marks Olympic Day today, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has highlighted the vital role that sport can play in inspiring people to move and live healthy, active lifestyles.
Underlining the “Let’s Move” theme of this year’s Olympic Day, which aims to prompt people around the world to make time for daily physical activity, President Bach stressed the health benefits and togetherness that can be gained from sport.
“When we do sport, it keeps our mind and body strong and healthy,” said President Bach. “When we do sport, it inspires us to always give our best. When we do sport, it makes us dream, it spreads joy and it brings us together. When we do sport, we live by our new Olympic motto: Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.
“This is the beauty of sport: it inspires the world to move, and it brings us all together – as friends and as a community, no matter where we are or how we choose to move.”
Inviting the world to get active
For this year’s Olympic Day, the IOC has launched the “Let's Move” initiative, which aims to encourage and enable the world to move more every day. Led by Olympians and created in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), “Let’s Move” invites everyone to make time for movement every day, for better health.
With regular physical activity helping to prevent noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and several cancers, the importance of living an active, healthy lifestyle is undeniable.
But despite this, people around the world are moving less. A 2022 report revealed that 81 per cent of adolescents and 27.5 per cent of adults are not meeting these goals.
Not having enough time in the day is one of the most common reasons given for not being able to reach this goal. At the same time, starting with just 30 minutes of movement a day has significant health benefits for hearts, bodies and minds.
For Olympic Day, “Let’s Move” invites everyone to join Olympic athletes such as Pau Gasol, Allyson Felix, Logan Martin, PV Sindhu and Yusra Mardini in a fun, inclusive 30-minute workout available on Olympics.com and across the @Olympics social channels. Everyone is also encouraged to share how they are getting active on Olympic Day on social media using #LetsMove #OlympicDay and tagging @Olympics.
A day to celebrate the creation of the Olympic Movement
Olympic Day, established in 1948, is a global celebration of sport and getting active that takes place on 23 June each year to commemorate the day the IOC was founded in 1894 – the birth of the modern Olympic Games.
“On Olympic Day, we remember the creation of the Olympic Movement by our founder, Pierre de Coubertin,” said President Bach. “He wanted to make the world a better place through sport. This is why Olympic Day is always the perfect opportunity to get up and move.”
The entire Olympic Movement is getting behind the “Let’s Move” initiative, with over 150 National Olympic Committees across five continents hosting Olympic Day celebrations in their territories – with around five million people expected to participate, not to mention more than seven million school children around the world. Numerous activations are also being organised by International Federations, Media Rights-Holders, Worldwide Olympic Partners and Organising Committees for future Olympic Games. Twenty-four iconic buildings around the world will also light up in the Olympic colours or the “Let’s Move” logo to shed a spotlight on this global activity.