The 2017 Olympic Day in Kiev on Saturday 3 June was the formal opening ceremony for the nationwide celebrations to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympics on June 23^rd, 1894, in Paris. Following which, every big city and 90% of small towns and villages in Ukraine will live 2017 Olympic day celebrations organized by NOC local departments in the weeks to come.

The country’s principal sports venue, NSC Olympiysky, hosted more than 4500 sport fans, as well as star Olympic athletes, celebrities and governmental representatives. #OlympicDay on the way to PyeongChang 2018 was the motto of the celebration, for which most activities were dedicated to the upcoming Winter Games.

Vice Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kyrylenko and Deputy Head of Sport and Youth Parliamentary Committee Mykola Velychkovych took part in the opening ceremony along with Sport Minister Ihor Zhdanov and NOC Vice President, IOC Member, Olympic Champion Valery Borzov. Mr Lee Yang-goo, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Ukraine, also participated with a greetings speech and promotional activities for his country and PyeongChang 2018.

Two dozen of Ukraine’s Olympic and Paralympic medallists and national teams’ athletes featured various activities on site, with 2018 Olympic team athletes, including 2014 biathlon champions Olena Pidhrushna and Yulia Dzhima receiving warm welcomes from the central stage of the celebration.

More than 30 national sports federations and club exhibition points were represented at the Olympic Day celebration, providing kids and their parents with information about sports and proposing options to try it themselves. Biathlon, cross country skiing, basketball, trampoline jumping, handball, IAAF Kids Athletics, taekwondo, as well as karate, skateboard and sports climbing, new Olympic additions for Tokyo 2020, are just some of sports displayed.

The organizers – Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee, Ministry of Sport and Youth and Kyiv State Administration – involved show biz celebrities to support 2017 Olympic day in Kiev. Inaugural activities were organized to entertain the guests of the celebration. A dozen teams, including the one from Artek Kids’ Center and another from the National Police Academy, took part at the Olympic-themed flash mob and karaoke contest, where Olympic and Paralympic athletes joined the groups to compete in a completely non-sports contest.

The climax of the day was Olympic Run hosted by NSC Olympisky. The venue that hosted 1980 Olympic football matches and the UEFA 2012 Euro final game, will also be host for the 2018 UEFA Champions’ League final.