International Olympic Day, Date, History, Most Important Significance, Themes, Celebrations

International Olympic Day is celebrated on 26th June. This is an annual celebration. International Olympic Day is celebrated all around the world: hundreds of thousands of people – young and old – participate in sports activities, such as runs, exhibitions, music and educational seminars.

The Olympic Games are the world’s only truly global, multi-sport, celebratory athletics competition. With more than 200 countries participating in over 400 events across the Summer and Winter Games, the Olympics are where the world comes to compete, feel inspired, and be together.

International Olympic Day

International Olympic Day was introduced in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on 23 June 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris. The goal was to promote participation in sport across the globe regardless of age, gender or athletic ability.

Over the last 20 years Olympic Day has been associated with Olympic Day Runs all over the world. From 45 participating National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in the first edition in 1987, the numbers have grown to over 150 participating NOCs. What’s more, many of the participating NOCs are in Africa – proving the event’s worldwide appeal.

Olympic Day is nowadays developing into much more than just a sports event. Based on the three pillars “move”, “learn” and “discover”, National Olympic Committees are deploying sports, cultural and educational activities. Some countries have incorporated the event into the school curriculum and, in recent years, many NOCs have added concerts and exhibitions to the celebration.

In 1947, a member of the International Olympics Committee in Czechoslovakia, Dr. Josef Gruss, presented a report about World Olympic Day in Stockholm. Later in the 42nd I.O.C. Session at St Moritz in January 1948, the idea for Olympic Day was adopted. With mutual consultation, June 23 was chosen to celebrate the foundation of the International Olympics Committee. Its motivation was to convey a message to the young people by promoting the idea of sports among them.

The day is celebrated to promote and spread awareness about the Olympic Movement, and to encourage more and more people to take part in the Olympic Games. Athletes and sportsmen from almost all nations participate in sports activities, such as runs, music, exhibitions, different sports, games, and educational seminars on the day. The Olympics Day has three pillars — Move, Learn, Detect. The National Olympic Committee encourage the participation of all regardless of their gender, age, social background, etc.

The Olympic Games

The Olympics is the world’s largest international multi-sport event held every four years. Thousands of athletes and sportspersons from all across the world take part in various games and sports. The modern Olympic Games are inspired by the Greek’s ancient Olympic Games held in Olympia, from the eighth century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. The first modern Summer Olympic Games were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. Since its foundation, International Olympic Day has widened its audience and has adapted to various local specificities.

The Olympic games are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are normally held every four years, and since 1994, have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year period.

The Olympic games was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games held in Olympia, Greece from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the governing body for the Olympic games.

The Olympic motto, Citius, Altius, Fortius, a Latin expression meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger” was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 and has been official since 1924. The motto was coined by Coubertin’s friend, the Dominican priest Henri Didon OP, for a Paris youth gathering of 1891.

The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.

Months before each Games, the Olympic Flame is lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia in a ceremony that reflects ancient Greek rituals. A female performer, acting as a priestess joined by ten female performers as Vestal Virgins, ignites a torch by placing it inside a parabolic mirror which focuses the sun’s rays; she then lights the torch of the first relay bearer (who also is a Greek athlete), thus initiating the Olympic torch relay that will carry the flame to the host city’s Olympic stadium, where it plays an important role in the opening ceremony. Though the flame has been an Olympic symbol since 1928, the torch relay was only introduced at the 1936 Summer Games.

The Olympic mascot, an animal or human figure representing the cultural heritage of the host country, was introduced in 1968. It has played an important part of the Games’ identity promotion since the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

As mandated by the Olympic Charter, various elements frame the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. This ceremony takes place on a Friday and is held prior to the commencement of the sporting events (apart from some group-stage football matches, softball games, and rowing heats). Most of the rituals for the opening ceremony were established at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. The ceremony typically starts with the entrance of the president of the International Olympic Committee and a representative of the host country followed by the hoisting of the host country’s flag and a performance of its national anthem.

The host nation then presents artistic displays of music, singing, dance, and theatre representative of its culture. The artistic presentations have grown in scale and complexity as successive hosts attempt to provide a ceremony that outlasts its predecessor’s in terms of memorability. The opening ceremony of the Beijing Games reportedly cost $100 million, with much of the cost incurred in the artistic segment.

After the artistic portion of the ceremony, the athletes parade into the stadium grouped by nation. Greece is traditionally the first nation to enter and leads the parade in order to honour the origins of the Olympics. Nations then enter the stadium alphabetically according to the host country’s chosen language, with the host country’s athletes being the last to enter. During the 2004 Summer Olympics, which was hosted in Athens, Greece, the Greek flag entered the stadium first, while the Greek delegation entered last.

Beginning with the 2020 Summer Olympics, the succeeding hosts of the respective Olympic Games (summer or winter) will enter immediately before the current host in descending order. Speeches are given by the President of the Organizing Committee, the IOC president, and the head of state/representative of the host country, formally opening the Games. Finally, the Olympic torch is brought into the stadium and passed on until it reaches the final torch carrier, often a successful Olympic athlete from the host nation, who lights the Olympic flame in the stadium’s cauldron.

Olympic Games Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony of the Olympic Games takes place on a Sunday and after all sporting events have concluded. Flag-bearers from each participating country enter the stadium, followed by the athletes who enter together, without any national distinction. Three national flags are hoisted while the corresponding national anthems are played: the flag of the current host country; the flag of Greece, to honour the birthplace of the Olympic Games; and the flag of the country hosting the next Summer or Winter Olympic Games.

The president of the organizing committee and the IOC president make their closing speeches, the Games are officially closed, and the Olympic flame is extinguished. In what is known as the Antwerp Ceremony, the current mayor of the city that organized the Games transfers a special Olympic flag to the president of the IOC, who then passes it on to the current mayor of the city hosting the next Olympic Games. The next host nation then also briefly introduces itself with artistic displays of dance and theatre representative of its culture.

As is customary, the last medal presentation of the Games is held as part of the closing ceremony. Typically, the marathon medals are presented at the Summer Olympics, while the cross-country skiing mass start medals are awarded at the Winter Olympics.

A medal ceremony is held after the conclusion of each Olympic event. The winner, and the second- and third-place competitors or teams, stand on top of a three-tiered rostrum to be awarded their respective medals by a member of the IOC. After the medals have been received, the national flags of the three medallists are raised while the national anthem of the gold medallist’s country is played.

Volunteering citizens of the host country also act as hosts during the medal ceremonies, assisting the officials who present the medals and acting as flag-bearers. In the Summer Olympics, each medal ceremony is held at the venue where the event has taken place, but the ceremonies at the Winter Olympics are usually held in a special “plaza”

Olympic Games Symbol

The Olympic symbol, better known as the Olympic rings, consists of five intertwined rings and represents the unity of the five inhabited continents (Africa, The Americas (is considered one continent), Asia, Europe, and Oceania). The coloured version of the rings—blue, yellow, black, green, and red—over a white field forms the Olympic flag. These colours were chosen because every nation had at least one of them on its national flag. The flag was adopted in 1914 but flown for the first time only at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. It has since been hoisted during each celebration of the Games.

Types of Olympic Games

Olympic Games are basically of 4 types.

Summer Olympics

Winter Olympics

Youth Olympic Games

Paralympic Games

Last Summer Olympics Games

The next Summer Olympic games are scheduled to be held in Paris in 2024 from 26 July – 11 August for almost 414 days which is known as Paris Olympic, 2024.