“Athletes from all corners of the world and backgrounds are preparing to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Athletes will inspire and encourage people around the world to bring more movement into their lives, making them healthier, better and more joyful. “We are very grateful to be able to partner again with the World Health Organization for the Let’s Move and Celebrate a Summer of Sport in Paris campaign,” said Thomas Bach, IOC President.
He continued, “This year’s Olympic Day is very special as it will take place just before Paris 2024. The celebrations will set the tone for an exceptional Olympic Games in the City of Light this summer. Athletes, fans, the entire Olympic community – all of us – look forward to Paris 2024: more inclusive, more urban, more sustainable. The first Olympics with full gender parity. The first Olympic Games aligned with the Olympic Agenda reforms from start to finish.”
Olympic Day, established in 1948, is the worldwide celebration of sport and physical activity that takes place on June 23 each year to commemorate the day Pierre de Coubertin founded the IOC in 1894. Given that Paris 2024 was Coubertin’s birthday, this summer is a special opportunity to demonstrate, once again, the power of the Olympic Games to unite the world in peaceful competition.
“The Olympic Games always build bridges, they never build walls. They bring people together in peace and solidarity. This is the beauty of sport: it inspires us to move, brings out the best in us, keeps us healthy and brings us all together, as friends and as a community, wherever we are and however we choose to move,” President Bach stressed.
MOVING FORWARD TO PARIS
The theme of this year’s Olympic Day , Let’s Move and Celebrate , aims to ignite a collective passion for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by encouraging people to get active and feel connected through sport.
“On this very special Olympic Day, let’s celebrate the joy that only sport can bring us. Together with all of you, I look forward to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, an unforgettable celebration of the joy of sport, a celebration of our shared humanity, a celebration of peace – let’s move and celebrate!”
Launched in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) on Olympic Day 2023, Let’s Move is an ongoing initiative spearheaded by the IOC that invites everyone to take time to move every day. Last year, it led more than 15 million people to embrace the joy of incorporating 30 minutes of daily physical activity into their lives.
Given that people are more likely to maintain consistent exercise routines when activities are enjoyable and accessible, and that WHO research found that 81 percent of adolescents are not active enough for their health, Let’s Move and Celebrate aims to make sport feel more natural, inclusive and fun.
Along with activities organized by National Olympic Committees (NOCs) around the world to commemorate Olympic Day 2024, the IOC is bringing sport and social media together to create a different experience. As part of Let’s Move and Celebrate , everyone is encouraged to show their support for athletes at the Games by creating or recreating their own iconic celebration moves and sharing them online.
GLOBAL CELEBRATION OF THE MODERN GAMES
NOCs from all corners of the world, along with Olympic hosts and the wider Olympic Movement, will hold mass participation events and digital activations, providing an opportunity for everyone to move forward together. They will be joined by Olympic athletes, including those preparing to compete at Paris 2024.
In Lausanne, the traditional Olympic Day will take place in the Olympic Capital, while in Budapest, unique activations such as Let’s Move fan booths and 30 minutes of sporting activity will take place during the Olympic Qualification Series (June 19-23).
Landmarks around the world will also light up in Olympic colors on June 23 to celebrate together.
