World Oceans Day, celebrated every 8th of June, is an event officially recognised by the United Nations. It is an observation held annually in honour of the world’s oceans, celebrating the products that the ocean provides such as seafood and marine life itself, and providing a time to appreciate its intrinsic value.
In China, the State Oceanic Administration is in charge of this occurrence and holds activities every year. This year, the theme is “caring about the ocean’s health, protecting the blue star”. The main venue of this year’s activities was Beihai, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The theme activities consisted of the Opening Ceremony, the Award Ceremony for the Oceans Person of the Year 2015, a Beach Clean-up and other supporting activities organised by the People’s Government of Beihai and Guangxi.
At the same time, a series of activities were held by the State Oceanic Administration, including a Nationwide Oceanic Knowledge Competition among university and high school students, a Reading Week, a documentary and photo exhibition about the ocean and a collection of original songs.
