“Sport, culture and education are fundamental principles drawn together in the aim of creating a harmonious balance between body, will and mind”. Created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1854, this philosophy is at the origin of what is known today as the Olympic Movement – an Olympism-based set of ideals and social actions whose main goal is promoting friendship, peace and transformation through sport. Olympic Day marks the birth of this Movement and is celebrated all around the world always on 23 June.

Olympic Day was first established in 1948 for the anniversary of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), exactly 54 years after its foundation. Held globally, Olympic Day celebrations are aimed at promoting the Olympic ideals, as well as solidifying the fundamental principles of Olympism: sport, culture and education.

“It is important to promote the educational content of sport, its power to integrate, include and mobilize people through its practice and values. The Olympic ideal is linked directly to people’s ethical values in favour of a more just and solidary society” says Rio 2016™ President, Carlos Arthur Nuzman.

Today, the Olympic Movement is built around three core values: excellence – that brings the idea of “always giving one’s best”, in the field of play as well as in all aspects of life; friendship – promoting the connection between people and building peace through solidarity and team spirit; and respect – for oneself as well as for one another, through fair-play.

Originally, Olympic day was celebrated by just nine countries but, today, people from around the world get involved in celebrating the date (check out the Rio 2016™ programme).

A great family to bring the Movement to life

In order to ensure these values are employed and promoted all around the globe, a true family runs the Olympic Movement. Lead by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Olympic Family is made of different groups and organisations that carry the philosophy of Olympism in all their activities. They are: International Federations (IFs); National Olympic Committees (NOCs); Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (such as Rio 2016™); Sport Associations and Clubs; and Sport Professionals, such as officials, coaches and, of course, athletes.

In the structure of this family, the IOC has a decision-making role. It’s a non-governmental non-profit organisation, whose mission, besides celebrating the Summer and Winter Olympic Games and the Summer and Winter Youth Olympic Games, is to support Sport Organisations in order to promote the philosophy of Olympism in every country.

The International Federations (IFs) govern their respective sport at a global level. They aim at promoting and developing sport as well as athletes in every country. They are responsible for all the technical aspects of sport, such as rules, equipment, necessary venues, judging, etc.

The National Olympic Committees (NOCs), for their part, are the representatives of the Olympic Movement in their respective countries and their mission is to develop all the Olympic sports at a national level, including educational programmes and athletes’ training. They are also responsible for sending a delegation of athletes to the Olympic Games. There are currently 205 NOCs all around the world. 

In order to celebrate an event of this magnitude, however, it is necessary to follow closely all factors involved in the Games, including the host city’s specific characteristics. Therefore, Organising Committees for the Olympic Games are formed and they work under the IOC’s supervision to prepare this complex sporting structure. The Committee has seven years between the moment the host city is announced and the Games opening to put in place all the necessary arrangements to organise them, a task that includes dealing with competition and training venues for each sport, ceremonies, competition programme and coverage, athletes’ accommodation and transport besides concerns with the post-Games legacy that will be left to the host city.

According to the Olympic Charter, all these groups must work together to promote the Movement. United, these entities contribute for the construction of a world guided by a democratic, humanitarian, cultural and sustainable conscience through sports practice.