What is International Olympic Day and why is it celebrated? Find out

International Olympic Day is a celebration of sports and health. The day is celebrated every year on June 23 and is an invitation for everyone around the world to be active. Read this article to know more about the International Olympic Day 2020.

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What is International Olympic Day?

International Olympic Day is celebrated to commemorate the day when the International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894. It is meant to motivate individuals around the world to become their best selves. One doesn’t have to be an Olympian to participate in this day. The first-ever Olympic day was celebrated on June 23, 1948. The countries of Portugal, Greece, Austria, Canada, Switzerland, Great Britain, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Belgium organised an Olympic Day in their respective countries and IOC President at the time, relayed a message to the young people of the world, urging them to participate and make sports an integral part of their lives.

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International Olympic Day 2020 celebration

The 2020 International Olympic Day celebration is truly global in nature, as it is being held entirely online due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown. On International Olympic Day 2020, the Olympic channel will be conducting live athlete-led home workouts. Athletes like USA gymnast Laurie Hernandez, France’s Martin Fourcade who has been a five-time Olympic biathlon champion, India's star wrestler Vinesh Phogat, China's skier Gu Ailing Eileen, and Tongan sensation Pita Taufatofua will be leading these sessions.

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The hashtags #StayHealthy, #StayStrong, and #StayActive will be used on social media to promote the event. Athletes from countries such as Japan, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago, and Russia will be participating in these live events. The International Olympic Day has become much bigger than just a run or work-out or even a single sporting event. 

National Olympic committees around the world are getting creative with their efforts around this day. They are basing their efforts on three pillars “move”,” learn” and “discover”. Their Moto is to engage everybody irrespective of age, gender, or any other factor that can become the cause of disparity among the participants.

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History of International Olympic Day 

The International Olympic Day can be traced back to 1947. Dr Josef Gruss, a Czech IOC member, came up with the idea of a World Olympic Day at the 41st Session of the International Olympic Committee in Stockholm that year. He proposed a day to be set aside to celebrate everything that the Olympics stands for. After a few months of Dr Gruss’s project received a go-ahead in the 42nd IOC session conducted in Switzerland. And June 23 was chosen as the International Olympic Day because of its historical significance, as the IOC was founded on the very same day in Sorbonne in Paris in 1894.