Earth's day was first celebrated in the USA in 1970 with the initiative of the ecological activist John McConnell , in the 22th of April, which is the first day of spring in the north hemisphere..

In 2009, the United Nations set the 22th of April as the "international day of mother Earth" and organized events all around the world in aim of sensitizing people on environmental issues, but also the mobilization of people, governments, companies and organization for a cleaner world. This initiative is coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and is celebrated in more than 175 countries..

This Sunday, April 27, the municipality of Athens organized a bicycle parade "Athens tour", dedicated to the Day of Mother Earth .  I participated with my friends.

Over 10.000 cyclists , women, men and many children showed with their participation their interest in protection Earth and the need for measures to be taken, so that sustainable development will be ensured in all countries of the world.

Video from the the bike parade

Similarly, the event was also dedicated to the Olympic ideal , the " fair play " and the joy of participation and exercise .

Three routes were organized, 8.5 km, 3Km for young children, and 1,1 km for disabled people. The routes do not have the form of a race, but more like a parade, for the protection of Earth.
Next year a 20-30 km route will also be added for more experienced bikers.

The event was full of fun, joy, music, and it finally finished in front of the Panathenaic stadium , where the first modern Olympic games took place, in 1896.

It is nice to see other initiatives to the same direction like Kenya's "Earthday Race" as described in the articles of the fellow ambassadors :

https://tunza.eco-generation.org/ambassadorReportView.jsp?viewID=12231&searchType=&searchName=&pageNumber=2
by Aness Nyaboga

https://tunza.eco-generation.org/ambassadorReportView.jsp?viewID=12230&searchType=&searchName=&pageNumber=3
by Samuel Muoria

We returned home feeling that efforts to mobilize for environmental protection can be combined with joy and optimism.