International Olympic Day 2021: History, significance and celebrations

The first International Olympic Day was celebrated on 23 June in 1948 by countries including Venezuela, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Great Britain, and Uruguay.

Every year on June 23rd, the world commemorates International Olympic Day. The day was first observed to promote the Olympic concept and to commemorate the founding of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). On June 23, 1894, in Sorbonne, Paris, this committee was formed.The Olympics games were revived by Pierre de Coubertin, as mentioned on the website of the International Olympic Committee.

Source: Takshila Learning

History

The first Olympic Day was celebrated on 23 June in 1948 by countries including Venezuela, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Great Britain, and Uruguay.

The origins of Olympic Day can be traced back to 1948. In 1947, IOC members in Czechoslovakia presented Doctor Gruss with a report on commemorating Olympic Day. The report was presented at the International Olympic Committee’s 41st Session in Stockholm, which was supposed to be a day dedicated to promoting the Olympic concept.

The proposal was adopted in the next session of IOC in January 1948 which was held in St Moritz. The date of 23 June was chosen by the National Olympic Committees to mark the formation of the IOC which happened on the same day in 1894.

Significance and celebrations

The day is significant because it aims to attract people of all ages to the Olympics. Its three pillars are move, learn, and discover, with the goal of encouraging people to engage in physical activity.

The Olympic Day Run has been organised on the International Olympic Day in 150 countries by the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) for the last 20 years. Along with the run, new activities are organised every year which includes celebrating the day at school and meeting top athletes.

People are also informed about other activities taking place in their community in order to encourage them to participate in Olympic Day.

One month from today, the upcoming Tokyo Olympics will begin. The Games will begin on July 23 and end on August 8, 2021, after being postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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