Children took part in the eleven-team Dragon Race on the Porsuk River in Eskişehir, while they also learned about nutrition, the environment, sport ethics and Olympic history to round off the Turkish Olympic Committee’s (TOC) events to mark the annual festivities.

The TOC began its Olympic Day celebrations on May 15 and a total of 10,000 young people participated across four cities, İstanbul, Mersin, Gaziantep and Eskişehir.

The figure represented a significant rise from the 4,000 who were involved in last year’s Olympic Day event.

The series of activities are designed to promote healthy lifestyles, environmental awareness, and the Olympic values among Turkey’s young generation.

All those who were a part of the Olympic Day were given certificates signed by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and TOC counterpart Uğur Erdener, who is also the head of World Archery.

“Every year for the past 29 years the IOC, Turkey and more than 4 million people worldwide have been celebrating Olympic Day,” Erdener, a member of the IOC Executive Board, said.

“As we all gear up for what will surely be a magical Olympic Games, the TOC wants to encourage people to support our athletes in Rio but also to take part in sporting activities themselves.

“It is our mission to promote physical wellbeing among our young population and educate them on the Olympic values of friendship, excellence and respect.

“Thanks to support from our sponsor Koç Holding, we were able to double the number of cities we visited reaching more children across Turkey than ever before.

“We will continue to expand our activities year on year and promote the vital role sport plays in the development of our society.”

A host of National Olympic Committees take part in Olympic Day, which seeks to promote fitness, well-being, culture and education through the three Olympic Day pillars - move, learn and discover.