Today is Olympic Day! Everything rowing fans need to know about the annual celebration

Every 23 June, the world marks Olympic Day. For the rowing community, this is a perfect reminder to get out on the water, support a teammate, or simply move with purpose.

Olympic Day commemorates the founding of the International Olympic Committee at the Sorbonne in Paris on 23 June 1894, when Pierre de Coubertin rallied support for reviving the Ancient Olympic Games. More broadly, it reflects the Olympic Movement’s mission of using sport to make the world a better place — a mission rowing has been part of since the sport’s inclusion in the Olympic programme at Athens 1896.

This year’s theme: “You can do this. Let’s Move”

Olympic Day 2026 centres on empowering young people — including young rowers — to take their first stroke, even when it feels uncertain. The theme is part of Let’s Move, an ongoing IOC initiative run in partnership with the World Health Organization.

The campaign responds to a real challenge facing youth sport, including rowing: research shows that over 81% of young people don’t reach the daily activity levels recommended for their health, with self-doubt cited as a major barrier to getting started.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry’s message will resonate with anyone who has sat in a boat for the first time:

“Sport is for all of us. Whether you are an Olympian, part of the local community team, run with friends for fun, we all begin at the same starting line,” she said. “Often, the hardest step is that first one. Every athlete has been there, with those creeping questions of self-doubt: am I ready, can I do this? But when our bodies start to move, our mindset does too.”

A tradition stretching back to 1948

The first Olympic Day was held on 23 June 1948, with Portugal, Greece, Austria, Canada, Switzerland, Great Britain, Uruguay, Venezuela and Belgium among the founding nations to mark the occasion. Since 1978, the Olympic Charter has recommended that all National Olympic Committees organise an Olympic Day or Week annually to promote the Movement.

How to get involved

Around five million people worldwide are expected to take part in Olympic Day activities this year, celebrating the values of Solidarity, Inclusion and Sustainability — values that sit at the heart of rowing’s own community ethos.

Activities will be organised globally by National Olympic Committees, International Federations, and Organising Committees. Highlights this year include a Let’s Move initiative returning to India in partnership with the Abhinav Bindra Foundation and Reliance Foundation, and a gamified WeChat challenge in China encouraging check-ins at community sport centres.

Many countries also host Olympic Day runs — a tradition launched in 1987 that has grown from 45 participating NOCs to over 100. Fittingly for the rowing community, one of the largest celebrations takes place each year in Lausanne, the Olympic Capital and home of both the IOC and World Rowing.

Whether you’re heading to the boathouse, organising a club row, or just getting moving with friends, Olympic Day is a chance to celebrate why we do this sport in the first place.

Get involved: Tag @worldrowingofficial on Instagram and @worldrowing on Facebook using #LetsMove and #OlympicDay to share how you’re moving this 23 June.