International Olympic Day (23 June)

The Olympic Games are held every four years featuring summer and winter sports competitions. International Olympic Day is celebrated in the whole world to mark the importance of these games and sports in our lives and to promote participation in games and sports across the world, irrespective of age, gender, cast, or religion.

As UPSC surprises aspirants with questions linked with what usually is assumed to be trivia; it is advisable that one must scroll through the facts about International Olympic Day to get the basic information. It might be your lucky day during UPSC Prelims if at all a question is asked from this topic.

Facts About the International Olympic Day for UPSC Exam-

Read the below-mentioned facts about the International Olympic Day; and aid your IAS Exam preparation along with other competitive exams’ preparation:

The topic can be asked as a Current Affairs Question in IAS Prelims. Visit the attached link to attempt practice quizzes on current affairs.

To read more about the other Important International and National Days, click on the link. Such days and events become very important for UPSC Prelims.

Significance of International Olympic Day

• Olympic Day is celebrated to promote participation in sport across the world irrespective of gender, age, or athletic ability.
• Olympic Day Run was introduced in 1987, to encourage more National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to participate and also promote the idea of participation in sports by all, irrespective of their age, gender, nationality, and athletic ability.
• The first Olympic Day Run was held over a distance of 10 km, with 45 participating NOCs.
• International Olympic Day has become more than just for sports as the NOCs around the world are also organising educational and cultural events which attract all kinds of people.

History of International Olympic Day

• In 1947 Dr Josef Gruss, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Czechoslovakia, presented a report about World Olympic Day in Stockholm.
• It was adopted in the 42nd IOC Session in St Moritz in January 1948.
• It is celebrated on 23 June every year to mark the foundation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), established on 23 June 1894 in Sorbonne, Paris.

About World Olympic Day 2021 Celebration

• The theme of 2021 was ‘Stay healthy, stay strong, stay active with the Olympic Day workout on June 23’
• To keep up with the theme, athletes from around the world united to perform live workouts for 24 hours together, virtually. The Olympic Channel brought out a home workout video especially for the occasion, featuring a line-up of Olympic stars.
• This became even more important in today’s time when due to Covid-19 pandemic, people have been going through a lot, both physically and mentally. Regular exercise benefits the body and brain and helps clear the mind of negative thoughts.

International Olympic Committee (IOC)

• The IOC was established by Pierre Coubertin, in Paris in 1894.
• The primary function of the IOC is conducting, promoting, and regulating the modern Olympic Games.
• Headquarters– Lausanne, Switzerland.

To know more about the International Olympic Committee, check the linked article.

Some Facts About India And Olympics

Some interesting facts about India’s participation in Olympics can be found in the following table:

Note: As UPSC 2022 approaches, use BYJU’S free Daily Video Analysis of The Hindu Newspaper to augment your preparation.

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