Ole Kirk Kristiansen, the man who invented Lego, he created an empire from nothing: the tenth son of a poor farming family, as a child he loved to carve wood when he didn’t help out in the fields. He dreamed of becoming a carpenter, he never imagined he would become a wealthy entrepreneur.
The first ‘brick‘of the company, founded Billund in Denmark, Kristiansen put it exactly 90 years ago with a collection of wooden games: 36 objects to be precise, including cars and airplanes. He chose Lego as his name, a term born from the abbreviation of two Danish words: Leg e Godt, which mean “play well”. And this will become the philosophy of a company that in 2015 became the one with the highest turnover in the toy market, surpassing Mattel. Lego still is, with 7.2 billion in revenues in 2020.
A new Research call “Lego Play Well 2022”commissioned by the Lego Group, highlighted how play is recognized as having the ability to strengthen many qualities in children, including creativity (93%), communication (92%), ability to solve problems (92%) and self-confidence (91%). They contributed to the study 55 thousand parents and children from over 30 countries around the world. Almost all children say that playing with the family makes them happy (97%), helps them to relax and disconnect from school (95%) and is their preferred method of learn.
They will be numerous initiatives in Italy and around the world to celebrate 90 years of Lego.
In our country, in particular, they have been established 8 weeks of play, with initiatives that will animate all the Italian LEGO Stores. Among these, the colorful Wheel Station, a sort of “spin the wheel” to create and recreate with your own creativity.
Furthermore, until 10 August it will be possible to participate in the “Grand 90 Years of LEGO Game Competition” by purchasing Lego products: you can win prizes and exclusive gadgets celebrating the company’s 90th anniversary. All information and regulations are available here.
In addition, the LEGO Group, in partnership with Adidas, will be the protagonist of Adidas Playground Milano Leaguea streetball project carried out on the Milanese playgrounds every summer from 2018. LEGO will be the protagonist for the entire course of the tournament starting from the first minibasket activities that will begin on 11 June and will be able to count on an exceptional Ambassador: Giulio Maria Papi, player of the Italian national wheelchair basketball team.
Finally, for its 90th birthday, the LEGO Group opened its 23rd on June 9th Lego Store in Naples, where fans can find the Minifigure Factorythe second in our country after Milan.