LEGO will bring kids’ ideas to life on World Play Day 2025

The LEGO Group is putting cities around the world into ‘play mode’, inspired by ideas from kids, for World Play Day 2025.

The LEGO Group is calling on builders around the world to put their cities in play mode on June 11, when it celebrates its first-ever World Play Day, in honour of the UN’s International Day of Play (IDOP). The goal is to inspire kids to imagine how to make their cities more fun and bring their ideas to life through events in Berlin, Boston, London, and Shanghai.

With almost a third of children around the world living in urban areas, and that number expected to rise to 70% by 2050, the LEGO Group wants to put more play opportunities into modern urban design. Over the last few months, children around the world have participated in workshops as part of the LEGO Group’s Build the Change social impact program. In June for World Play Day, their creative ideas on playful cities will come to life.

That includes: riverside locations in Shanghai being turned into playful immersive experiences; takeovers of local Berlin Spätis to explore kids’ passions like music and sport; interactive pop-ups inspired by local Boston culture; and the Play Pavilion in London in partnership with Serpentine.

“When children are free from the constraints of adult thinking, they often conceive the most imaginative and groundbreaking solutions for making urban spaces more engaging and joyful,” said Remi Marcelli, SVP Global Brand Development at the LEGO Group. “That’s why we’re providing children with a platform to share their innovative ideas on how they can influence the future of their communities. Play can spark imaginations and change cities for the better, so this World Play Day, we want to encourage families everywhere to join us and put their world in play mode.”

Other ideas for World Play Day 2025 were sparked by kids’ imaginations, like a city inspired by kids ideas, brought to life by former NASA engineer and top science creator Mark Rober, who’s known for building epic slime volcanoes.

“As a child, I always loved to tinker and build – play was how I learned to think outside the box,” said Mark. “With the power of your imaginations and LEGO bricks, kids have the chance to rebuild the world.”

Joining Rober is a global crew of creators from music, arts, sports and digital culture, with a combined fanbase of over 62 million, including: Zoe Wees and Younes Zarou (Germany), Jamad Fiin, Cedric Mitchell, Brandon McCadney (Mad Keys) and Lourdes Villagómez (US), Mulyana (Indonesia), Sha’an D’Anthes (Australia) and Xie Qiongzhi (China) who will be bringing their creative energy and influence to show kids everywhere that play isn’t just fun – it’s a force for positive change.

Other activities happening in the run-up to World Play Day include:

• The LEGO Festival taking place at seven LEGOLAND resorts around the world.
• A free LEGO Education World Play Day Educator Toolkit available to teachers around the world from May 19 to implement play-based challenges in classrooms.
• Build the Change Playful Cities activity taking place at LEGO House, LEGOLAND Discovery Centres and over 30 community partners around the world.

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