Olympic Day to be celebrated in Finland on 6 September

International Olympic Day has been celebrated every 23 June since 1948. Nowadays, almost 200 national Olympic Committees organize a range of events in honour of International Olympic Day to highlight Olympic values and to encourage everyone to get active. In Finland, the official Olympic Day is being celebrated in the autumn, on 6 September, as part of the Finnish hobby model and a week dedicated to sport and hobbies.

Everything starts with a spark: the joy of activity, sport and hobbies.

The International Olympic Committee has given Finland special permission to organize Olympic Day on 6 September to support the Finnish hobby model and a week dedicated to sport and hobbies. Olympic Day, which will kick off a national sport and hobby week, challenges municipalities, schools and sport clubs to get involved. This sport and hobby week aims at as many children and young people as possible finding a sport or hobby they enjoy, and hopefully lighting the spark and enthusiasm for physical activity.

When schools and municipalities run Olympic Day activities, they can use the materials which will be published on the Finnish Olympic Committee’s website in August. The Olympic education courses and materials on both the website and in the learning arena (“Oppimisareena”) provide information about Olympism and give concrete ideas and tips for organizing Olympic Day activities.

“The key values of the Olympic education materials include responsibility, joy and collaboration. Even though these values are strongly tied to Olympism, they can be used just as well in any sport or hobby, says gymnast Katja Volkova, who represented Finland at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

Olympic Day: a great opportunity for a hobby to reach new people!

The COVID-19 pandemic has closed children’s and young people’s sport activities and hobbies for a long time. There has been a huge drop in the numbers of people practising various sports and hobbies.

“We want to invite every school, municipality, discipline and club to celebrate Olympic Day with us this autumn. Olympic Day is a fantastic opportunity for clubs and regional associations to showcase themselves and reach potential new people,” says Maria Ulvinen, who specializes in children’s exercise and sport at the Finnish Olympic Committee.

Ulvinen hopes that everyone involved in the sport and hobby sector will celebrate Olympic Day.

“Olympic Day is all about showing people the joy of exercise and hobbies. I’d like to encourage everyone to get involved in Olympic Day in a way that suits them personally. On Olympic Day this autumn we are celebrating the Olympic year and together spreading the joy of sport and hobbies.”

The Finnish Olympic Committee will host a day-long event for local schools on Olympic Day, 6 September 2021, at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki. At the event, schoolchildren can try out sports and hobbies that children and young people have said they would like to do. Alongside that there will be a media and influencer event to spread information about and discuss the national significance of sport and hobbies.