Olympic Day 2022 - Together for a Better World

Olympic Day is an annual celebration that commemorates the formal establishment of the International Olympic Committee on June 23, 1894. It was officially created in 1948 as a sort of birthday of the Olympic Movement.

In 1890s, French historian and educator Pierre de Coubertin came up with the idea of reviving the Olympic Games at the international level. On June 23, 1894, the first Olympic Congress was held in Paris, France. The Congress resulted in the establishment of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a non-profit non-governmental organisation responsible for the organisation of the Olympic Games.

In 1948, the IOC established Olympic Day to commemorate the revival of the Olympic Games. The day is marked with the Olympic Day Run typically held on the weekend closest to June 23. The first Olympic Day Rune was held in 1987 with 45 participating National Olympic Committees. The event focuses on promoting participating in sport by people from all countries regardless of their age, gender, background and athletic ability.

These days, Olympic Day is developing into much more than a run or just a sports event. Based on the three pillars of “move”, “learn” and “discover”, NOCs are deploying sports, cultural and educational activities aimed at everybody – regardless of age, gender, social background or sporting ability.

Olympic Day 2022 – #MoveForPeace

In 2022, the new pillar entitled “Together for a better world” was introduced. It includes topics such as sustainability, inclusion, solidarity and peace, aiming to bring people together to contribute to a better world through sport. Each year, the pillar will focus on a different theme that will serve as a common global thread.

2022’s theme celebrates the power of sport to bring people together in peace: a call to action for people to move together, up to and during Olympic Day, to show their united support for a peaceful world.

Find out more about Olympic Day here.