17 Jul 2019
Global Wellness Day 2019 reaches millions across the globe
BY Tom Walker
The Global Wellness Day (GWD) reached more than 7,000 locations in 150+ countries across six continents during 2019 – resulting in millions of people getting involved.
In the eight years since its inception, the annual celebration of wellness has grown exponentially and this year saw the involvement of a host of high-profile celebrities.
These included Oprah Winfrey and her best friend Gayle King posting on social media how they were celebrating GWD by taking a morning hike with the dogs.
According to GWD founder, Belgin Aksoy, the sheer variety and volume of projects organised on the day – and the interest in them – means that the event has now truly "arrived".
“The beauty of GWD is that no matter where in the world it is celebrated, the aim is to always take the current wellness level of the community and enhance it with complimentary wellness activities," she said.
"GWD events range from having lice cleaned from children’s hair in Myanmar 'No Man’s Land' to yoga with celebrity instructors on the Helipad of Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.
"GWD is inclusive, embracing and a fit for any community. That’s part of what makes it so magical.”
With the motto “One day, can change your whole life!”, the focus for the 2019 event – which took place on 8 June – was on building communities of wellness.
Individual initiatives included Weight Watchers inviting its global community to take a "small step towards a healthier life" and sharing whatever action they took on social media – and tagging a friend to create a positive ripple effect.
Elsewhere, Gym Source, a US-based commercial distributor of fitness equipment, converted all of its 35 stores into gyms that were open to the public on GWD.
Aksoy’s dream of celebrating a day dedicated to wellness has now inspired an international network of more than 87 GWD Ambassadors, 25 Key Supporters and four Advisors to organise complimentary wellness events around the globe.
New countries taking part in the event this year included the Cayman Islands, China, Peru, Kenya, Zimbabwe and the Dominican Republic.
Jeremy McCarthy, group director of spa & wellness at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group – one of the operators who regularly takes part in GWD – said: “There was a moment at a Global Wellness Summit about four years ago when Belgin got everyone in the room to stand up and “Say Yes” to Global Wellness Day.
"At that point I really thought, wow she is really making this happen and it’s a positive thing.
"Mandarin has been participating every year since then and this year has been our best yet.
"We encouraged all our hotels and resorts around the world to offer complimentary wellness activities. Not only did we get great feedback from our guests, but it’s been a great culture-building exercise for our colleagues and team members, and it’s just a really nice and meaningful event for our communities.”
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