As tradition dictates, on 23 June the International Olympic Committee celebrates Olympic Day.

The day dedicated to sport, health and the desire to come together was created precisely on the anniversary of the founding of the IOC, on 23 June 1894, when Baron Pierre de Coubertin, at the Sorbonne in Paris, set in motion the revival of the Ancient Olympic Games.

Then, in 1947 in Stockholm, Doctor Gruss, a Czech member of the International Olympic Committee, presented to the 41st IOC Session the idea of a world Olympic day, a day dedicated to celebrating everything the Olympic Movement represents. A few months later, the project was approved at the 42nd IOC Session, held in St Moritz in January 1948.

The organisation of the event was entrusted to the National Olympic Committees and today, as every year, CONI is also playing its part. “During a race in my third year of middle school I discovered I was an athlete,” recalls Antonella Palmisano for the occasion (photo ANSA), winner of the 20km race walk at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. “I won the Italian race walking championship. Athletics was no longer just a way to be part of a group. I think that sometimes you need to hit rock bottom in order to rise to the top. I spent entire days crying, but I always managed to get back up. Before Tokyo 2020 I had suffered an injury and I did not even know whether I would be able to take part. And instead I won Olympic gold. I tell young people to be ambitious, to dream. To find the strength to overcome their own limits and build their own future”.

Words closely connected to this year’s Olympic Day theme: “You can do this. Let’s Move”. A simple message whose aim is to encourage young people to take the first step, reminding them that sometimes feeling awkward, imperfect or insecure is entirely normal. “Let’s Move” is an initiative promoted by the IOC in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO): research shows that young people face a number of barriers to taking part in sport and physical activity, and that a lack of confidence is one of the factors contributing to this situation.

While the world is moving faster than ever, people are moving less and less: research shows that more than 81% of young people do not reach the recommended daily level of physical activity for optimal mental and physical health. 23 June marks the beginning of a new global movement aimed at finding time to move.

“Sport is for all of us. Whether you are an Olympian, a member of your local community team or running with friends for fun, we all start from the same starting line,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry stressed. “Often, the hardest step is the first one. Every athlete has found themselves in that situation, with those doubts creeping into their mind: ‘Am I ready? Can I do this?’. But when our bodies start moving, our mindset changes too. Confidence grows with every step, we begin to believe in ourselves and, together, we support one another. This is the power of sport: it is not only about what we are physically able to do, but about what we believe we can do. Together”.