World Bicycle Day 2025: not just a sport, a driver of change

They’re quiet, don’t pollute, improve health, and transform cities. This 3 June, the world is celebrating the fact that moving around on two wheels is much more than a transport choice

This is 2025 and bicycles no longer are no longer synonymous only with sport, leisure or childhood. Cycling is about well-being, quality of life and a more habitable environment. Below, we report on why World Bicycle Day, held every 3 June since it was proclaimed by the UN in 2018, has become much more than a symbolic event – it is a driver of social change.

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From the podium to the street: the bicycle as a driver of change

For decades, the bicycle has occupied a discreet place in the urban ecosystem, relegated to weekends or children’s play. But in recent years it has gained protagonism as a real alternative to private vehicles in daily travel.

The growing global market for bicycles – annual rate 9.6% - shows how cycling as a sustainable transport mode is on the up as health and environmental concerns mount, and public investment in cycling infrastructure increases, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. The number of bicycles globally, 2 billion in 2015, could reach 5 billion by 2050, it is estimated.

Cities like Copenhagen, Oslo and Amsterdam have led this change, opting for safe cycling infrastructure, connected networks and awareness campaigns. And they are not alone: more now understand that sustainable mobility is a necessity, not a fashion.

Danish architect and urban planner Jan Gehl, a global leader in the design of people-centered cities, advocates changing grey spaces into living and habitable spaces promoting active mobility, where the bicycle occupies a key place. For Gehl, urban design should favor moving around on foot or bicycle as a way of recovering public spaces, reducing environmental impact, and improving daily life. He summarizes it by saying that making better cities for people also makes them better for everything else.

A tool against the climate crisis

Transport represents almost a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions and a good part of these emissions come from private vehicles. In the light of this data, the bicycle emerges as an affordable, efficient solution.

A study by Barcelona’s Institute for Global Health reveals that, if everyone who lived in European cities used the bicycle like they do in Copenhagen, it would avoid over 10,000 premature deaths per year and reduce CO₂ emissions significantly.

The increase in electric bicycles has also allowed bicycle use to taken up by older people and those with reduced mobility, as well as over longer and more demanding journeys. Active mobility is no longer the exclusive use of the young and sporty.

Cities of the future will pedal

The bicycle is not an isolated solution. For it to function, it has to be integrated into a broader vision of cities, which opt for adequate and safe infrastructure and regulatory changes that prioritize sustainable mobility.

This implies:

Connected, protected and well-maintained cycle lanes
Safe and visible junctions for pedestrians and cyclists
Covered parking, particularly at public transport stations and educational centers
Regulations promoting harmony between pedestrians, bicycles and motor vehicles
And, of course, a cultural shift: stop seeing the cyclist as a disturbance or ‘urban adventurer’ and start to understand them as a key part of the solution.

Pedaling is also a cultural gesture

Beyond its usefulness, the bicycle represents a different way of being in the world. Pedaling is like looking at the city through another pair of glasses, connecting with the environment and recovering bodily rhythm. It’s a symbol of autonomy, a social vehicle, an educational tool and a way of enjoying traveling once more, not just about arriving at the destination.

This is 2025, after all, and the bicycle is now a symbol of social and cultural change. Each trajectory is a contribution to building sustainable urban environments where quality of life is a priority.

Remember, on World Bicycle Day, that change begins on two wheels.