Event World Day
World Oceans Day 2025
Covering more than 70% of the Earth's surface, oceans are essential to human lives and livelihoods. World Oceans Day, celebrated on 8 June, is the occasion to raise awareness of the benefits humankind derives from the ocean and our individual and collective duty to use its resources sustainably. In 2025, World Oceans Day will be celebrated under the theme "Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us."
Celebrating the Ocean
Oceans Day was first declared on 8 June 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, at the Global Forum, a parallel event at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. On 5 December 2008, the United Nations General Assembly designated 8 June as World Oceans Day through its resolution 63/111, at the initiative of Canada.
World Oceans Day, reminds everyone of the major role the oceans have in everyday life. The purpose of the Day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world’s oceans.
2025 Theme: Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us
The ocean’s wonder is what draws us in and often drives our desire to protect it.
Wonder is the foundation of scientific knowledge, the allure behind exploration, the curiosity that drives innovation, and the seed of traditional wisdom. In the face of increasingly daunting challenges, the act of wondering serves to remind us that we are part of something bigger. It wakes us up to our inherent connection to the earth and to each other, expands our understanding of what is possible, empowers innovation and prioritizes decision-making for collective well-being.
This World Oceans Day, we celebrate the ocean’s essential wonder from all of the wonders it consists of to the wonder it ignites, and call on decision-makers to not lose sight of the ocean’s wonder when determining its fate.
Events
On 8 June 2025, United Nations World Oceans Day will be celebrated in Nice, France, ahead of the 2025 UN Ocean Conference. The unique alignment of two major UN ocean events is an unprecedented opportunity to amplify visibility and collaborative efforts for the ocean. The raising of the World Oceans Day flag will mark a moment of global unity and momentum for the ocean, setting the stage for the UN Ocean Conference in Nice. Against the stunning backdrop of the Regatta of Boats, the symbolic flag raising ceremony will invite the global ocean community as well as the public in Nice to celebrate this year’s UN WOD theme, “Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us.”
Action for the Ocean in International Geneva
Various Geneva-based organizations or secretariats work actively to protect and restore the oceans and promote a sustainable blue economy. Discover more about the vital role oceans play in our lives and the work that is being done in Geneva to preserve marine environments and foster a more sustainable blue economy.
UN Ocean Conference 2025
The 2025 UN Ocean Conference will be held from 9 to 13 June 2025 in Nice, France, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica. The Conference will involve all relevant stakeholders, bringing together Governments, the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, other interested international bodies, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organizations, Indigenous Peoples and local communities and other actors to assess challenges and opportunities relating to, as well as actions taken towards, the implementation of Goal 14.