The official opening on September 22nd of the 5th edition of the European Week of Sport (EWoS) was held in the Espoo Sports Park on the outskirts of the Finnish capital Helsinki under a bright sun and frisky weather conditions.

In the presence of EC commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Tibor Navracsics and of EC Commissioner for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness Jyrki Katainen thousands of schoolchildren had a great time doing all kinds of activities such as sumo wrestling and outdoor bowling.

The EWoS launched in 2015 and took place every year from September 23rd to September 30th. It was created by the European Commission with one goal: to promote physical activity and sport all over Europe. Since the first edition in 2015 in Brussels, the EWoS has grown dramatically from 5 million participants to over 13 million in this year’s edition. More than 50 000 events were organised across 42 participating countries and 47 partner organisations.

The week is traditionally articulated around 4 themes, namely sports clubs and fitness centers, outdoors, education environment and workplace.

On September 22nd, during the afternoon session, commissioner Navracsics rightly emphasised that sport has a unique power to break down barriers and proudly announced that the European Commission has proposed to double the budget for sport to € 550 million in the future to boost physical activity, specifically among young people.