We do it in our daily lives. We ride our bikes to work or go swimming. We watch it live or enjoy it on TV. Sports are all around us and are an integral part of the lives of millions of Europeans. Especially this summer, when the world’s biggest sporting event, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, opened yesterday and the opening ceremony was broadcast around the world.
EU participates in Olympics
The EU featured prominently for the first time at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony, performing on a floating barge, in keeping with the EU’s motto “Unity in Diversity”. The boat was staffed by dancers representing the youthfulness and dynamism of the EU, dancing to Eurodance music.
This event was a unique opportunity for the EU to promote its values of peace, unity and solidarity. Diversity is a strength in the EU and team spirit is the key to success, and we link this to the values of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Olympic Games will serve as an opportunity to highlight the importance of freedom of movement and academic freedom within the EU, especially for young people, as well as EU policies and activities supporting sport and young people.
We also launched Team Europe 2024, a European medal counter for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, allowing you to count medals and follow and celebrate the achievements of EU athletes.
But what is the EU doing to promote sport?
Sport should be for everyone. That is why the EU promotes this through the Erasmus+ programme, encouraging dialogue, support and participation in all areas of sport policy. There is also the European Week of Sport, which runs from 23 to 30 September each year, an initiative to promote the benefits of sport and physical activity across Europe at national, regional and local levels.
Making sport accessible to everyone also fosters social inclusion and inclusion awareness. Every year, the Commission recognises organisations that use the power of sport to improve social inclusion for disadvantaged groups through the #BeInclusive EU Sports Awards. It also works with all EU countries and national sports organisations to raise awareness of the importance of gender equality in sport.
Sport must also be fair, especially in competitive and professional sport. The EU protects the integrity of sport by coordinating and sharing information with international partners in the fight against doping. In relation to match fixing, the Commission plays an active role as part of a broader effort to ensure that competitive sport remains fair.
Through these efforts to make sport fairer, more inclusive and more accessible, the EU is helping to fulfill its core values of peace, unity, solidarity and diversity. And that is exactly how it should be. After all, sport plays a vital role not only in the health and fitness of individuals but also in shaping wider European society.
