In January 1948 at the 42nd IOC Session in St Moritz, Switzerland, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the idea of Olympic Day. This celebration would be used to commemorate the creation of the IOC on 23 June 1894 in Paris.

    Olympic Day was held for the first time on 23 June 1948 with a total of 9 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) hosting ceremonies in their respective countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Great Britain, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland, Uruguay and Venezuela.

    In an effort to encourage all NOCs to commemorate Olympic Day and celebrate the founding of the IOC in 1894, the IOC Sport for All Commission launched the Olympic Day Run concept with the objective of promoting the practice of participation in sport by men, women and children from all corners of the world and all walks of life, regardless of athletic ability. The first Olympic Day Run was held in 1987, over a distance of 10km, with 45 NOCs participating. Now the race over various distances is arranged by as many as 169 National Olympic Committees all over the world and is open to men, women and children of all ages.

    While the tradition of holding the Run on the weekend before or after 23 June continues today, many NOCs are now using local trends to develop the event into a large country-wide celebration. The traditional 10km run has been adjusted by many NOCs in order to attract a greater number of participants. Distances now vary from 100 metre events for children to full marathons.

    Some countries have incorporated the event into the school curriculum and in recent years many NOCs have added local sporting events and cultural exhibitions to the celebration. Some events are held over half a day, others over a number of months.

    Over the last 17 years, the Olympic Day Run has developed into the only worldwide celebration of the Olympic Day, and helps to spread the Olympic ideals to every corner of the world.

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