The European Commission is holding the 2026 European Week of Sport from 23 to 30 September, connecting thousands of local initiatives under the slogan “#BeActive Your Way”. The official opening will take place in Dublin, bringing together representatives of the Commission, the Irish Government and Sport Ireland before activities spread to schools, universities, workplaces, clubs, gyms, parks and public spaces. The campaign does not require people to compete, join an organisation or have previous experience: walking, dancing, travelling actively or trying a sport are all presented as ways of introducing more movement into everyday life.
The campaign begins after the sixth Eurobarometer on sport and physical activity recorded an improvement compared with 2022. The proportion of Europeans who never exercise or play sport has fallen from 45% to 39%, while the number exercising several times a week has risen by six percentage points to 38%. Almost-daily participation has reached 9%, three points higher than in the previous survey. However, participation still depends heavily on age, education and financial circumstances. “Everyone should have access to affordable sport and safe places to exercise, close to home,” said the Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, Roxana Mînzatu, who specifically mentioned children whose families cannot afford club fees, older people and people with disabilities.
One campaign, thousands of activities
The Commission establishes the framework, identity, resources and calendar but does not organise every activity directly. Delivery falls to national coordinating bodies and a network of public authorities, federations, educational institutions, clubs, businesses and social organisations. The Week operates across all 27 European Union countries, other states associated with Erasmus+, and territories in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership. This model allows the same campaign to be adapted to different sporting structures: Spain works through the Spanish Sports Council –CSD–, while Belgium has separate coordinators for Flanders, Wallonia-Brussels and its German-speaking community.
In Spain, the CSD provides a platform through which organisers can register initiatives, add them to a public search tool and receive the official #BeActive label. After the event, participating organisations can upload a photograph and obtain a personalised certificate. Autonomous communities, municipalities, schools, universities, sports centres, federations and workplaces can take part by arranging open days, trial sessions, tournaments, walks or organised activities. The national programme will include a BeActive Night in Torrejón de Ardoz on 26 September, while other countries use their own listings and registration systems to bring activities closer to the public.
From first contact to long-term participation
“#BeActive Your Way” is intended to remove some of the barriers that prevent sections of the population from exercising. The campaign avoids presenting physical activity solely as training or competition and includes small changes that require no specialist equipment, sportswear or particular level of fitness. Free events and open sessions allow people to try an activity without immediately committing to membership fees or a long-term programme. Clubs and sports centres can then use that first experience to offer regular opportunities, while schools can introduce activities that continue throughout the academic year.
The European School Sport Day, scheduled for 25 September, will bring this approach into educational settings through games, group exercise and active mobility initiatives. Activities in workplaces and universities aim to introduce movement into environments where much of the day is spent sitting. Outdoor programmes use the setting already preferred by the largest proportion of the population: 47% of respondents identify parks and other outdoor spaces as places where they normally exercise. The use of health and fitness facilities has risen from 33% to 39%, but the largest increase has occurred in active commuting, which has climbed from 24% to 37%.
From 7,000 activities to almost 80,000
The European Week of Sport was launched in 2015 as an institutional response to high levels of physical inactivity. Its first edition brought together approximately 7,000 activities across 34 countries. Eleven years later, the Commission has recorded 118 million participations in more than 433,000 initiatives. The final European figures for 2025, used as the reference to avoid discrepancies with earlier national counts, placed that edition at more than 15.1 million participants and almost 80,000 activities.
The development of the campaign extends beyond its numerical growth. During its early editions, the Week focused primarily on promoting sport through events held in September. Over time, it has incorporated school initiatives, workplace activities, inclusive projects and family programmes, alongside European awards and actions beyond the EU. In June 2026, the Commission brought together national coordinators, sports organisations and grassroots representatives to consider how to simplify procedures, improve coordination and reach new participants. This process includes preparations for the first #BeActive Winter edition, scheduled for the first two weeks of February 2027, as the campaign seeks to extend its activities to other parts of the year.
The challenge of turning attendance into a habit
The motivations identified by the Eurobarometer allow activities to be shaped around specific interests. Among Europeans who exercise, 44% do so to improve or maintain their physical health, 39% seek relaxation and 26% specifically mention their mental health. However, the number of events and attendees measures the campaign’s immediate reach rather than its long-term effects. Registration confirms that someone has taken part in an activity but cannot establish whether they will still be exercising several weeks later. Nor is there enough evidence to attribute the six-point reduction in inactivity since 2022 to the Week, as public policies, social changes, private initiatives and individual decisions have all contributed to that development.
The Week therefore operates as the most visible part of a broader programme. Responsibility for legislation and policies concerning physical activity lies primarily with the Member States, while the Commission coordinates action, collects data, funds projects through Erasmus+ and facilitates cooperation with the World Health Organization –WHO– and sports organisations. The European Union is preparing a revision of its recommendation on health-enhancing physical activity for 2027 and is developing a strategic vision for the European Sport Model. Within this structure, #BeActive aims to provide the first point of contact; continued participation will depend on whether the opportunities discovered during these eight days remain accessible, local and affordable throughout the year.
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