The Olympic Festival brought children to sport. It was attended by the President and nearly 70,000 visitors

Seventeen days, over 50 sports and almost 70,000 visitors. The Olympic Festival in the Czech Republic returned to lakeside location after eight years, this time in Most. Its main goal was, similarly to previous years, to bring children to sport – and it was a success, as nearly 40 percent of the total number of visitors were children under the age of 12.

After returning from Paris, golden tennis player Kateřina Siniaková, bronze medallists Jakub Jurka, Jiří Beran, Martin Rubeš and Michal Čupr, as well as many other Olympians, headed to Lake Most. Judoist Lukáš Krpálek, slalom canoeists Lukáš Rohan and Jiří Prskavec, and tennis player Barbora Krejčíková tested the local sports facilities. The unique atmosphere attracted even Petr Pavel, the President of the Czech Republic, who praised the organisation of the whole event. “It’s so lovely here, I’m not surprised that so many people come here. I think you have done a wonderful job not only for sport as such, but also for the locals."

Thanks to two sessions of suburban camps, 400 children experienced five days full of exercise and fun at the Olympic Festival. During the course of the event, they tried both Olympic and non-Olympic sports, received an analysis of their general aptitudes for sports, and the rest of the day was filled with an interactive educational zone dedicated to Olympic values and the history of Olympism. In addition, for the first time ever, children from Germany took part in the programme as well – thanks to the Czech-German Future Fund and the cooperation between the Czech NOC and the German Olympic and Sports Confederation.

The highlight of the cooperation was the visit of German athlete Steffi Nerius, who, together with Barbora Špotáková, showed the children the basics of javelin throw. "It's great to have a platform that brings children to sport, especially when there’s such a wide range of sports on offer. You can really feel the Olympic atmosphere here. The interconnection of the place with sports and the Olympic idea is simply great," Nerius said.