As the world marks International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, and the World Physical Activity Day on April 6, Dubai Sports Council has urged members of the community to embrace the celebrations, but without violating any of the COVID-19 safety norms and protocols.

The World Health Organization (WHO) named April 6 as the World Physical Activity Day in 2002, during its 54th World Health Assembly, the theme of which was to promote physical activity. The day was inspired by the Agita Mundo Network, a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting physical activity.

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, meanwhile, is an annual celebration of the power of sport to drive social change, community development and to foster peace and understanding. It commemorates the date on which the 1896 Olympic Games, the first Olympics of the modern era, were inaugurated in Athens, Greece. To mark the occasion, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to celebrate April 6 as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace on August 23, 2013, and the decision has been supported by the International Olympic Committee since April 6, 2014.

Dubai Sports Council has been at the forefront in celebrating these twin-events every year on April 6 in the past, but due to COVID-19 restrictions in place, the Council is not organising any mass events to mark the occasion. But still, it has called on members of the community to join the global celebrations by playing any sport or through any physical activity, either at home or in small numbers outdoors, without breaking any of the COVID-19 regulations.

The Council has also stressed on the need to stay fit and embrace a physically active lifestyle because of its numerous benefits for the body, soul and mind, especially through these challenging times.