4 Days to go to Olympic Day - Angola’s Olympic Day Celebrations to Focus on Youth

19 | 6 | 2015

The Olympic Day pillars of move, learn and discover will feature prominently in Angola’s Olympic Day activities with children being invited to participate in both sporting and educational activities in Luanda on 23 June.

Around 80 kids aged 10 to 14 years of age will take part in a lecture on the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect at Luanda’s national Sports Gallery where Olympians such as four-time Olympic swimmer Nádia Cruz will lead activities focused on spreading the message of Olympism to future generations.

The children will then be given a tour of the Sports Gallery, which was inaugurated last year as the new home of Angola’s Olympic movement and includes displays bearing witness to the performance of the country’s athletes and their feats in local and international competitions.

The day will conclude with the Olympians leading the children on a walk to the national stadium Estádio dos Coqueiros with the Olympic torch.

Nádia Cruz, President of the Angolan Olympic Athletes Association (AAOA), who made her Olympic debut as a 13-year-old at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, said:

“Our annual Olympic Day celebrations are firmly focused on the children of Angola as they are vital to the continued development of sport in our country. We are keen to instil in the younger generation a real sense of what it means to represent your country as an athlete and as an Olympian while also promoting the principles of fair play, tolerance and respect.”

The country’s Olympic Day activities sit within a wider campaign by the Angola Olympic Committee (COA) to mobilise young athletes to take up sport, which is supported by the Angola government who sees increased sporting participation as a serious and important issue in terms of the country’s Olympic development.

The southern African nation is a relative newcomer to the Olympic Games. Angola made its first Olympic appearance at the 1980 summer Games in Moscow. Since then number of participants has steadily grown and at London 2012 it fielded a team of 34 athletes across seven sports including basketball, handball, boxing, judo, canoeing, athletics and swimming.

Olympic Day is the annual celebration of Olympism which takes place on 23 June. On this day International Federations, National Olympic Committees and Olympians come together to embrace the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect through sport and education.

The WOA would like to share your inspirational Olympic Day stories, events and pictures on our digital and social platforms so please let us know about any planned Olympic Day activities by contacting info@thewoa.org.