On 4 September, Olympic Day drew 8,000 visitors to Helsinki Olympic Stadium to discover different sports and opportunities to take up a new hobby, and to enjoy the joy of being active. Throughout the day, visitors had the chance to try nearly 40 different sports. 

During Olympic Day, thousands of sports try-outs took place, alongside moments of success and inspiring encounters as visitors discovered different sports. The goal of the event was to make it easier to take up a new hobby and to demonstrate in practice just how fun and social being active together can be. The event also gave the sports community an opportunity to highlight the “Together Against Loneliness” theme of National Hobby Week.

– We wanted to make Olympic Day a place where it’s easy to try new things and where everyone feels comfortable joining in just as they are. When different sports, people, and communities come together on the same day, it creates opportunities to get excited, learn new things, and find a hobby they can continue with after the event is over. We believe that Olympic Day also served as a reminder that the joy of being active often comes from doing things together, says Liisa Ahlqvist-Lehkosuo, Director of Sports at the Finnish Olympic Committee.

Local schools were well represented at the event: more than 6,000 schoolchildren took part in Olympic Day as part of their school day. For many children, the day offered a chance to try sports they might not otherwise have had the opportunity to discover. At the same time, the event made different opportunities to be active easily accessible to children and young people in a safe environment, together with their classmates and familiar adults. These kinds of low-threshold experiences can be crucial when a child is looking for an enjoyable way to be active and a hobby that feels right for them.

– Olympic Day clearly demonstrated how important it is to provide children, young people, and families with opportunities to be active, to try new sports, and to find a meaningful hobby. It was wonderful that thousands of schoolchildren and other visitors were able to experience the joy of being active at the Olympic Stadium, an iconic setting for physical activity and sport in Finland. The event took on special significance also because next year Helsinki will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the 1952 Summer Olympic Games. Olympic Day served as a reminder of the legacy that lives on in the daily lives of people in Helsinki through being active, community spirit, and new hobbies, says Tarja Loikkanen, Director of Sports for the City of Helsinki.

Olympic Day was a one-day event, but for many, it’s just the beginning. Suomisport’s Sporttihaku and local Tähtiseura clubs throughout Finland offer plenty of opportunities to try new sports and stay active close to home. At the same time, sports clubs offer much more than just physical activity: they are places where friendships are formed, experiences are shared, and people find communities that are easy to join.

The Finnish Olympic Committee organised the event in collaboration with the City of Helsinki, the Olympic Stadium, the Tahto Cultural Center for Sports and Physical Activity, as well as the Olympic Committee’s member organisations, sports clubs and partners. HK and Jenkki were also part of the event. Ocean Outdoor, Bauer Media, and Aktiivimedia joined us in spreading the message of Olympic Day.