The annual celebration is dedicated to the founding of the International Olympic Movement by Pierre de Coubertin on June 23, 1896.

The event will see the Russian National Olympic Committee (ROC), the Moscow Government, the City Administration of Sochi and Sochi 2014 Organising Committee host various educational, cultural and sporting events, with Moscow and Sochi being the focal points for the festivities in the country.

In the capital, performers and spectators will gather at the Luzhniki Stadium and the celebrations will feature 35 sporting arenas, a race over 1,911 metres in honour of the ROC's centenary and a relay entitled "Mum, Dad and me - an Olympic family", in which members of the public will race against relatives of sports stars and cultural icons.

Alongside the many other events, a football match will also be held between Olympic champions and representatives of the arts.

Visitors will have the chance to meet sporting legends including Elena Dementieva, Alexander Lebzyak, Pavel Kolobkov, Aleksey Nemov, Maria Kiseleva and Nikolai Gulyaev.

Sochi 2014 ambassadors Domisolky will perform the song "Olympic Dreams" and the Sochi 2014 Anthem.

Among the other Sochi 2014 Ambassadors set to attend are the bobsleigh silver medallist Albert Demchenko, skier Olga Zavyalova and Paralympic champion Olesya Vladykina.

They will be on the jury for a photo contest with the Olympic Mascots and will also take part in the "Mum, Dad and Me - a sporty family" competition.

The "Olympic Moments" photo exhibition will be held in the open air, displaying 100 works by renowned sports photographers Sergey Kivrin and Andrey Golovanov, who have taken stunning Olympic images at the last 12 Olympic Games.

Sochi, the upcoming 2014 Olympic Winter Games Host City, will also stage festive events to mark the occasion, including morning exercises, an Olympic class with Games ambassador Aleksey Voevoda, sport contests and games, and a swimming race of students from sports schools.

A graffiti festival will also take place around the Sochi beach "Riviera" to promote Olympic values, with street art amateurs, as well as schoolchildren and fans, getting the chance to participate in the event, where lucky participants will receive gifts and souvenirs provided by Rostelekom.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]