National Olympic Committee
Republic of Moldova
What?
From politicians to artists and school children, everyone got active during the Republic of Moldova’s “Olympic Fest” on 23 June 2014. With Olympic Day activities centralised from the capital city, celebrations were then extended to the whole country and lasted for an entire month!
Where?
Chisinau and all the regions of Moldova.
How?
The NOC of Moldova was given exclusive permission by the local authorities to use the city square as an “Olympic Fest Playground”. This event, featuring a variety of engaging activities, saw 1,200 children from 35 schools and members of the public join the Olympic-themed celebrations!
- The entire community was all hands on deck for the annual event, whereby an incredible 250 volunteers were present to assist with the smooth running of the day.
- The Chisinau Police Academy greeted hundreds of participants with branded Olympic Day t-shirts and maps indicating where the different sport booths were located. Organised by the National Federations, the sports present included athletics, basketball, laser shooting, tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling.
- 35 Olympians also contributed to the day’s events. Noticeable in their Olympic Day t-shirts adorned with the Olympic rings, the athletes met with the young participants, signing autographs for them, and helping them try out their sport at the different booths.
- The children were also encouraged to take a “selfie” with the Olympians, echoing the IOC President’s call to action to Youth Olympic Games athletes during the opening ceremony in Nanjing, and post it to the Moldova Olympic Facebook page.
- The main activity for the crowd was the 3.5 km Olympic Day Race around the city centre. This brought hundreds of people to line the streets, and was a great opportunity for friends and families to come together and cheer the participants.
- Another crowd-pleasing and unique event was a football match between local artists and politicians. This tightly fought contest brought the Olympic Day crowd together, where everyone enjoyed seeing the players in a setting that was much different to their normal day-to-day activities.
- After the final whistle, the politicians took a tour of the playground, which was captured by national television broadcasters demonstrating the governmental support for the development of sport in Moldova.
- The rest of country was also buzzing with Olympic Day excitement, with all of the 33 regions holding a mini-Olympic Fest, Olympic Runs and lighting an Olympic flame.
With whom?
Various sports’ National Federations. Territorial Olympic Agencies assisted with promotion and logistics. The local authorities assisted with logistics and gave permission for the use of Chisinau city square.
Next Steps
The NOC of Moldova would like to make Olympic Day celebrations even bigger for 2015. By developing the marketing into other languages and creating an online registration process, it will become more easily accessible for people from all over Moldova to participate in celebrations across the country. The NOC would also like to increase the exposure of their Olympians by increasing the number of them participating at the event. The sporting role models have proven a great way to inspire and encourage children to get involved in the activities and in sport itself.
Conclusion
Moldova’s “Olympic Fest” held in the capital and across all regions of the country inspired the nation to celebrate Olympism on 23 June 2014. The participation of politicians in Olympic Day further demonstrated to the population that sport is considered a valuable and important part of society. Finally, the lighting of Olympic flames in all the regions of Moldova ensured that the Olympic spirit was present across the country.