UNESCO grants patronage to the World Gym for Life Challenge

From July 22 to 26, Lisbon will host one of the largest international gymnastics gatherings, in an event that will be recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has decided to grant official patronage to the World Gym for Life Challenge 2025.

This decision recognizes the value of the event organized by the Portuguese Gymnastics Federation in partnership with the International Gymnastics Federation, highlighting its contribution to promoting gymnastics as a tool for social inclusion and diversity through sports. In its official statement, UNESCO highlights the merit of an event “that brings together people of all ages and cultural backgrounds,” aligning itself with the principles of the Fit for Life Global Sport Alliance, a flagship initiative of UNESCO created to activate the transformative potential of sport as a tool for social inclusion.

The World Gym for Life Challenge 2025 thus becomes the second event of the International Gymnastics Federation's Gymnastics for All discipline to receive UNESCO sponsorship, after the Gymnastics for All Colloquium, which took place in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, earlier this year.

UNESCO's sponsorship of the World Gym for Life Challenge 2025 reinforces Lisbon's position as a global stage for sporting events with social impact and underlines the international relevance of gymnastics as a movement that unites, educates, and transforms. This is a historic moment for gymnastics in Portugal and for all those who believe in the transformative and unifying power of physical activity.