Social media activating people on Olympic Day
Tens of thousands of people around the globe are using social media platforms to share their sporting experiences and spread the spirit of the Olympic Games in celebration of Olympic Day today.
Every year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the entire Olympic Movement encourages people – young and old – to participate in sports activities to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on 23 June 1894. This year, however, by reaching out to its millions of fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter and YouTube, the IOC has prompted tens of thousands of people to get up off the sofa and get active, and then share their sporting moments via videos, photos and text messages.
All of the IOC’s digital platforms have been in Olympic Day mode since the beginning of June.
The homepage of the IOC’s web site, www.olympic.org, has been revamped to better spread the message of Olympic Day. A map highlighting all the activities taking place around the globe today greets visitors to the site. Olympic Day videos, photos and messages from the general public can be viewed by clicking on the events highlighted on the map.
Twitter and Facebook users are invited to take part in exciting contests. People who tweet what they’ve been up to in terms of sporting activities are eligible to win a trip to the 2012 London Olympic Games, while the IOC’s Facebook fans can win a trip to Lausanne and tickets to The Olympic Museum.
On YouTube, users who upload videos of themselves doing sport are eligible to win a trip to the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck in 2012.
Finally, in China, a call to action has also been sent out on the IOC Weibo microblogging account and the Yuoku video channel, with various prizes being awarded.
“Through our digital platforms, the IOC wants to reach out to young people using their own language and channels of communication,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge. “I am thrilled to see how many people are embracing the spirit of Olympic Day and sharing their sporting moments with us. This is what the IOC has always strived to achieve: to get people active regardless of their age, gender or athletic ability. Thanks to our initiatives in social media, we are reaching out to an even greater number of people around the world and spreading the values of sport.”
The IOC currently interacts with over 4 million fans on Facebook, with roughly 10,000 new fans joining every week. More than 110,000 people follow the IOC on Twitter. In 2010, the IOC’s web site www.olympic.org registered more than 7,000,000 visits.
If you want to get active on Olympic Day and share in the fun, please join us on the following platforms and tell us what you are up to!
Twitter http://contest.olympic.org http://www.twitter.com/olympics
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=122160914509478&ref=ts http://facebook.com/olympicgames
YouTube http://www.youtube.com/olympic
China
Weibo (microblog) http://sports.t.sina.com.cn/olympic http://weibo.com/olympics
Youku (video sharing) http://Youku.com/olympics
About Olympic Day
Olympic Day was introduced in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on 23 June 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris. The goal was to promote participation in sport across the globe, regardless of age, gender or athletic ability. Over the last 20 years, Olympic Day has been associated with Olympic Day Runs all over the world. From 45 participating National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in the first edition in 1987, the numbers have grown to nearly 200 participating NOCs.
Over the past few years, Olympic Day has developed into much more than just a run or a sports event. Some countries have incorporated Olympic Day activities into their school curricula. Others have added concerts and exhibitions to the sports activities. Athletes and Olympic champions are also active on Olympic Day to encourage people to take up sport, enjoy and excel.
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For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations team: Tel: +41 21 621 6000 e-mail: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.olympic.org
Videos
YouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia
Photos
For an extensive selection of photos of today’s event, please follow us on Flickr
Social media
For up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Innsbruck 2012
1st edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games, Innsbruck, Austria,13 to 22 January 2012. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.