Philosophy

Athens was chosen to host the 2009 International Children's Games with a unanimous decision of the International Executive Committee, which met in Bangkok, Thailand on 23 August 2006. Hosting this supreme institution of children's sports will put Greece at the centre of global interest and will allow it to show off the impressive facilities available for internationally prestigious sports events, as well as to promote the idea of the Children's Olympics.

The Athens event gives budding athletes from all over the world the unique opportunity to visit and compete in the city where the Olympic Games were born and, more recently, improved. The young athletes will visit sites which are a source of inspiration for the athletic spirit and ideals of the Olympics, they will take part in an international athletic event accompanied by a range of cultural and educational exhibitions, and will get to enjoy a unique athletic and cultural experience.

Athleticism, the Olympics, cooperation, friendship, enjoyment, recreation, culture, playing, education, new technologies and the environment come together in an unparalleled event for the young athletes who will come to Greece from all over the world.