International Olympic Day 2021: Theme, History and Importance

International Olympic Day 2021: International Olympic day was introduced in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on the 23rd June 1984, Paris. It is a global celebration of the founding of the International Olympic Committee and Modern Olympic Movement.

Through the efforts of Pierre de Coubertin, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was formally established on 23 June 1894.

In 1987, in an effort to encourage all the National Olympic Committee (NOCs) to promote the Olympic day, the concept of Olympic day Run was presented with the objective of encouraging the participation of men, women, and children from all over the world regardless of their athletic ability in sports activities.

The first Olympic day run was held in 1987. 45 NOCs participated in this event which rose to 161 in 2006. NOCs usually organize an Olympic day run between 17-24 June with 1.5km, 5km, and 10km running activities.

International Olympic Day 2021: Theme

‘Stay healthy, stay strong, stay active with the #OlympicDay workout on 23 June’ is the theme of International Olympic Day 2021.

International Olympic Day 2021: History

Doctor Gruss, the IOC member in Czechoslovakia, presented a project to celebrate a world Olympic day during the 41st Session of the International Olympic Committee in Stockholm. It was during the 42nd IOC Session in St Moritz in January 1948 that the project was adopted.

The National Olympic Committee was then requested to select a date for organizing this event. Thus, the date of its (NOC) formation was chosen to celebrate the event. The first Olympic Day was celebrated on 23 June 1948. Sigfrid Edström was the IOC president at that time.