FIS Athletes Encourage Getting Active On Olympic Day
FIS athletes were active on Olympic day and encouraged everybody to do the same. Among those taking part in the IOC’s Olympic “Dance with the Backpack Kid” campaign were Britain’s Alpine Skier Chemmy Alcott and French ski crosser Ophelie David.
Many others took the opportunity to look back on their Olympic experiences and reflect.
The annual Olympic Day was celebrated on 23rdJune with this year marking the 70th anniversary of the global celebration. Since 1948, the IOC has called upon the Olympic Movement to help promote the importance of leading an active life. Starting with nine nations to now over 150 in 2017, Olympic Day festivities have been enjoyed by six million people, playing and participating in sporting and cultural activities, such as fun runs, exhibitions, music and educational seminars.
To mark this year’s milestone, the IOC launched a campaign with the banner "United By". An Olympic Dance has been promoted by the Olympic Channel, along with traditional Olympic Day run events.
China, the host country of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, kicked off a week-long national celebration for Olympic Day with about 20,000 people participating in nine Chinese cities. A 4.5-kilometre walk took place at Beijing 2022 headquarters located at the Shougung Venue that will also host the Big Air competitions with Chinese Olympians, while an ice and snow theme was used in Shenzhen and Harbin to promote Beijing 2022. Turin 2006 Olympic aerials gold medallist Han Xiaopeng was in Harbin and Olympic silver medal winning pairs figure skaters Pang Qing and Tong Jian coached children in Shenzhen.
In Shenzhen and Harbin, #OlympicDay celebrations had an ice and snow theme to promote #Beijing2022. This is Olympic gold medalist Han Xiaopeng (#FreestyleSkiingAerials, Turin 2006) having fun on the snow with school children in Harbin. #UnitedBy #Olympics. @Olympics pic.twitter.com/LIpyoD36lG
— Beijing 2022 (@Beijing2022) 23. Juni 2018
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) marked the 70th anniversary of Olympic Day by hosting top-level athletes and officials from the National Olympic Committees of the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the hosts of the upcoming Olympic Summer and Winter Games: Japan and China. The celebrations took place in the Olympic Capital of Lausanne (SUI) at the annual Olympic Day reception.
Olympic and elite table tennis players from each of the four nations showed off their skills during a friendly mixed table tennis exhibition match.Additional activities at the Lausanne celebration included: an Olympic Day Run organised by the City of Lausanne; speeches by the Mayor of Lausanne, Mr Grégoire Junod, and Vaud Councillor of State Mr Philippe Leuba; a tango demonstration; live music with Swiss Olympic snowboarder and artist Pat Burgener; and a live broadcast of the Switzerland vs. Serbia FIFA World Cup match.
