Sports and Culture joint together

An international celebration of children's sports, the International Children's Games, calls children and teenagers from all over the world to meet each other and become friends in the context of a sports event held exclusively for them. The event puts emphasis on sporting ideas, respect, difference, and understanding different cultures and ways of thinking. The aim of the Games is not to win but to create strong bonds of friendship and solidarity between young athletes from all over the world.

In its 40-year history, the International Children's Games have welcomed more than 30,000 children from all the continents of the planet, introducing them to different places and helping them to understand different cultures.

Today they take place under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee, and are held in a different city each year, taking the form of a Children's Olympics.

In 2009, apart from the summer games which Athens will host, winter International Children's Games will be held in two towns in Switzerland (Vevey & Montreux 19-22 February). The 44th Games will take place in 2010 in Manama, Bahrain, and the 45th in Lanarkshire, Scotland.