Active play is movement that feels like play. It can be gentle or energetic, indoors or outdoors, alone or with others.

Remember moving because something looked fun, someone came round and asked you to come out and play or a game had already started and you wanted to join?

World Active Play Day is an annual invitation to make room for that feeling again.

Put the screen down for a while. Step outside if you can. Find an excuse for active play.

A reason to play

I remember long, hot summer days when the first job was finding my friends. We knocked on each other’s doors, jumped on our bikes and headed out.

We ran, climbed, chased each other, explored and made up games as we went along. Rules changed halfway through because someone had a better idea. Sometimes we stayed out until dinner. Sometimes until the light started disappearing.

Movement happened because we wanted to play.

Those are my memories. Your version may look completely different. Maybe you played in a garden, street, park, playground, beach or living room. Maybe it was tag, skipping, football, dancing, hide-and-seek, climbing trees, racing bikes or a game nobody outside your group would have understood.

Think about your version. When did you last move with that sense of freedom?

I share more about rethinking exercise and finding movement that feels enjoyable in my TED Talk, Why Working Out Isn’t Working Out.

Where did all that play go?

Life gets in the way. Work, family, responsibilities, appointments, messages and notifications.

Screens can occupy the small gaps in our days. Five spare minutes can disappear into a scroll before we have decided what to do with them.

Technology helps us work, learn, communicate and enjoy ourselves. Our attention is limited, though. Sometimes we can choose to spend a little of that time moving, exploring, playing or being with other people.

World Active Play Day gives us a reason to make that choice.

A reason to look up. A reason to move. A reason to play.

Step outside if you can

Outside gives us space to explore. A line on the pavement can become somewhere to practise balance. A patch of grass can become somewhere to chase. A beach can become somewhere to throw, jump or race. A familiar walk can feel different when you turn part of it into a game.

You don't need a playground, sports pitch, or equipment. You need somewhere you can move and an idea that feels playful.

And if outside does not work for you, play indoors. Active play belongs wherever you can make room for it.

Play shouldn’t have an age limit

Somewhere along the way, many adults become spectators instead of players. We take children to play, organise their games and watch from the side. Then we return to our own scheduled movement.

World Active Play Day invites adults back into the game.

Children. Adults. Older adults. Friends, partners, families and neighbours. Different generations playing together.

Picture a child, parent and grandparent playing tag together. Nobody needs to be the fastest. The game can change to fit the people playing it.

Playing out as well as working out.

For more on movement, strength and everyday capability as we age, explore healthy ageing and physical function.

Why World Active Play Day exists

Active play can become easier to leave behind as our lives become busier and more structured. Adults often create opportunities for children to play without joining in themselves.

Children’s opportunities for independent, outdoor and unstructured play also depend on factors such as safety, access to places to play and time. Digital entertainment is one of many things competing for attention.

World Active Play Day makes deliberate space for physically active play across the lifespan.

For one day, we are asking: what might happen if we gave a little less attention to our screens and a little more attention to the world around us?

Go outside if you can, or make room indoors. Find someone to play with, or go alone. Explore, move, experiment and make up your own rules.

Read why active play is for everyone.

What I’ve seen

My work with the Primal Play Method® has let me watch adults rediscover active play.

People start moving and become absorbed in what they are doing. They laugh, compete, cooperate, experiment and try again.

One participant described the experience as “unadulterated active play”. Those words stayed with me.

Play still belongs in adult life.

Active play across life

Physical activity supports health across the lifespan. Active play can provide one way to move. The movements, effort and meaning of that experience will vary from person to person.

Research into play examines outcomes including wellbeing, development and social connection. Findings depend on the people involved, the type of play and what researchers measure.

Through coaching, I have seen the value of professional experience. It helped shape this campaign alongside the broader evidence for physical activity.

The belief behind World Active Play Day is simple: everyone should have opportunities to play actively throughout life.

Explore Movement Throughout Our Lives for a closer look at movement across different ages.

Play can bring people of different ages and backgrounds together. The games may look different from place to place, but the invitation is shared: find a way to move and play where you are.

Help bring World Active Play Day to your community

For 2027, we want to hear from organisations interested in creating opportunities for active play. Schools, community groups, play organisations, parks, workplaces, health and ageing organisations, local authorities and physical activity groups are all welcome.

You might host an activity, share campaign information or explore another way to support the day.

Tell us a little below. Registering your interest creates no obligation.

A shared appreciation of play

The United Nations’ International Day of Play, observed each year on 11 June, recognises the importance of play and every child’s right to play.

World Active Play Day shares that appreciation, with a specific focus on physically active play throughout life. The initiatives have different origins and dates. Both recognise a place for play in our lives.

Next World Active Play Day: Saturday 2 October 2027.

Until then, you do not need to wait for a special day. Find an excuse for active play every day.