To the 23 days of the month of June internationally, the Olympic day. The commemoration of this date refers to the creation of the International Olympic Committee in the year 1894. Therefore, the Olympic Day is also the anniversary day of the committee that laid the foundations for the development of the Olympic Games in the contemporary age. The main personality related to the revival of modern games was Pierre ofFredy, known as Baron de Coubertin.
Baron Pierre de Coubertin, as the name implies, was a member of the French aristocracy and a figure with an interest in promoting integration between the nations at a time when rivalry between them was eminently fierce, given that, in the nineteenth century, nationalism was the ideology predominant. Coubertain's initial proposal was presented at the Union of French Societies for Athletic Sports (USFSA) on the occasion of his 5th birthday in 1892. There was acclaim for the proposal, but most people who appreciated Coubertin's project did not understand its dimension.
It took two years from presenting the proposal to institutionalizing the committee. On June 23, 1894, the International Olympic Committee was formed, with the Greek as its president. Demetriusvikelas and as general secretary the Baron de Coubertain himself.
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It took another two years for the first Olympic Games to be held in the city of Athens, between the 6th and 15th of 1896. Initially, the proposal had the city of Paris as a destination for the games. However, given the historical relationship that Greece had with the Olympic tradition (and the committee's chairman being a Greek), the city of Athens was chosen as its headquarters.
In the same way that, in Classical Greece, the city of Olympia hosted the athletic games (dedicated to the god Zeus) with the aim of establishing a truce in the wars in which the city-states were inserted. The modern Olympic Games, stimulated by the Olympic Committee, also aimed to introduce a friendly atmosphere between nations European countries.
In the specific case of Brazil, the 23rd of June is also dedicated to the celebration of the Day National of Sport.
* Image Credits: Olga Popova and Shuttersock
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FERNANDES, Claudio. "June 23 – Olympic Day"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/datas-comemorativas/dia-olimpico.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
