Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In 2020, major changes are taking place in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. For the first time in the history of mankind, all holidays, events and meetings are held online. Changes also affected the sports sector. In particular, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were carried over to 2021.

However, the celebration of the “International Olympic Day” cannot be postponed, as this holiday is celebrated around the world, millions of people are waiting for this day. Currently, the International Olympic Committee and all the National Olympic Committees of the countries of the world are conducting great preparations in honor of the celebration of International Olympic Day. Also, the NOC of Uzbekistan began preparations for this event. In particular, a working group was created in conjunction with the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports of Uzbekistan and appropriate instructions were given to responsible persons regarding the organization of the holiday.

For 27 years, Uzbekistan has supported the initiative of the International Olympic Committee and widely celebrates Olympic Day. On this day, each participant in the event can feel like a real Olympian. This event develops the Olympic movement in our country and allows to increase the involvement of the population in physical education and sports. This year in Uzbekistan, Olympic Day will be celebrated as follows:

On 15-18 June, a virtual running competition will be held;

On 17-20 June, interviews will be organized with the participation of famous athletes on the topic "The Olympics is ...";

On 20 June, it is planned to conduct an online training and a marathon of a master class on the ZOOM platform.

Great preparations are underway for Olympic Day. It should be noted that this year fans will see the celebration in a completely new format. The holiday will be held in an online format, it is planned to hold interesting competitions, as well as performances by famous athletes.

This year, Olympic Day will be held under the slogan #StayStrong, #StayHealthy and #StayActive. It should be noted that these slogans urge to stay at home and not only the residents of Uzbekistan, but also the population of the whole world and all athletes, observing a healthy lifestyle.

For information, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded on 23 June 1894 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. In January 1948, in the city of St. Moritz, Switzerland, during the 42nd session of the IOC, it was decided to hold International Olympic Day. On June 23, 1948, the National Olympic Committees of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Great Britain, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland, Uruguay and Venezuela celebrated Olympic Day for the first time. Over the next 60 years, this sporting event was called "Olympic Running Day."

However, in 2009, on the initiative of IOC President Jacques Roggen and according to the decision of the International Olympic Committee, the day again returned the name Olympic Day. Currently, Olympic Day has become one of the most popular sporting events. Each year, millions of people take part in a sports and health festival in one of the 205 countries of the International Olympic Committee. The purpose of this event is to promote a healthy lifestyle and spread the idea of ​​Olympism among the population, as well as to increase interest in sports of older and younger people.

Our Dear President has always supported the development of the sports sector. One of the key initiatives developed for the development of the state, improvement of the population and future youth, is focused on the development of sports, namely, on creating wide opportunities for high-grade leisure of our young people in mass sports and physical education, popularization of a healthy lifestyle among the population, which indicates on the attention paid to sports by the Head of Uzbekistan. Now, due to quarantine, many countries of the world are experiencing economic difficulties, especially for athletes and coaches. But thanks to the policy of Our Dear President, we can say that such problems and difficulties did not affect our athletes.

Dear compatriots, stay at home, preserving the health of yourself and your loved ones and go in for sports with us.