“Unite, inspire and empower”: ICC chair Jay Shah pushes for sports-driven well-being on International Olympic Day

New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) Marking the occasion of International Olympic Day, the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah backed the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) global initiatives to “harness the power of sports for promoting health, well-being, and active community engagement.”

Olympic Day is a celebration of sport, health, and active lifestyles. It is celebrated each year on June 23 commemorate the day the IOC was founded at the Sorbonne in Paris, as Pierre de Coubertin rallied the revival of the Ancient Olympic Games on 23 June 1894.

The occasion is being celebrated across the Olympic Movement, with National Olympic Committees, International Federations and Organising Committees of the Olympic Games creating opportunities for their communities to participate all over the world.

“On the International Olympic Day, we are fully behind the initiative by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to harness the power of sport to promote health, well-being, and community engagement,” the ICC chair posted on X.

After 128 years, Cricket will make its long-awaited return to the Olympic stage at Los Angeles 2028, after its one and only Olympic performance at the Paris Games in 1900. At LA28, Cricket will use the T20 format.

“With more than 2 billion fans around the world, cricket has the ability to unite, inspire and empower at an unparalleled scale. Wishing everyone a happy Olympic Day and look forward to celebrating with all of you the Olympic spirit that motivates us to move, play, and thrive,”

In a video message marking Olympic Day, IOC president Kristy Coventry has encouraged people around the world to “take the first step” and get active this Olympic Day.

Her message supports this year’s Let’s Move theme, “You Can Do This”, which aims to encourage young people to turn self-doubt into self-belief through movement and sport.

Olympic Day celebrations can be traced back to 1947. Doctor Gruss, a Czech IOC member, presented the idea of a World Olympic Day at the 41st Session of the International Olympic Committee in Stockholm, Sweden, which would set aside a day to celebrate everything the Olympic Movement stands for.

A few months later, in January 1948, the project was agreed to at the 42nd IOC Session in St Moritz, Switzerland. The National Olympic Committees were charged with organising the event, and the date celebrates a special moment in the history of the Olympic Movement.

–IANS

bc/