Washington D.C., November 13, 2017 – Special Olympics has launched its official process to identify andselect a host for the upcoming 2023 Special Olympics World Games. World Gamesare the centerpiece of the Special Olympics movement and occur every two years,alternating between Summer and Winter Games.
The World Gamesbid process is open to all Special Olympics Programs around the world inconjunctions with the nation or cities in their location. There are currently223 Special Olympics national and state Programs globally empowering 5.6million athletes with and without intellectual disabilties. The firstexpressions of interest are due back to Special Olympics headquarters bymid-December 2017. A structured process will follow throughout 2018 with thesuccessful bid being ratified and announced in 12 months’ time (November 2018)by the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.
Lou Lauria,Special Olympics Global Chief of Games and Competition, said the World Gamesgenerate significant interest among prospective hosts given the unique offeringthat Special Olympics represents.
“Few events have the social impact of the Special Olympics World Games,”said Lauria. “The World Games are about more than sports. They’re abouthumanity. The Special Olympics World Games provide a robust, high profileplatform for a host city to achieve a range of social objectives ranging fromsocial inclusion, health, education, and sport.
At the most recent Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles,more than 6,200 athletes from 165 countries competed in 25 sports. With nearly2,000 coaches, 10,000 volunteers and an estimated 500,000 spectators, the 2015Games set records for participation and enthusiastic fans in the stands.Millions more tuned in remotely, watching the Games nightly on ESPN, ABC-TV andTV networks in more than 190 countries around the world. 1,200 media fromaround the world descended on Los Angeles for these Games.
The LA2015 Games also broke awareness records for the Special Olympicsmovement, racking up 20 billion impressions in many media channels worldwide. Thescale of the Games was enhanced by high-profile corporate partners -- includingCoca-Cola, Microsoft, Bank of America and Toyota -- whose video and commercialtie-ins starring Special Olympics athletes brought even more attention preceding,during and after the event.
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While Special Olympics competitions happen locally around the worldevery day, with more than 100,000 events taking place annually, it is the WorldGames that leave the biggest and most inspiring legacy for the athletes whoparticipate and especially the host nations.
Tim Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics International and son offounder Eunice Kennedy Shriver, says he’s seen first-hand how – for the cities,states and nations who host the Games – Special Olympics can positivelytransform their society. “From China toGreece, from Ireland to Korea and beyond, each host country that embraces theseGames shows the world their recognition of the value of every human being.”
He added, “We’ve seen over and over again how the World Games are provento trigger positive societal changes in ending discrimination and breaking downfear of difference.” Shriver recalls how the 2007 World Summer Games inShanghai marked a turning point in the China’s attitudes toward people withintellectual disabilities.
Smaller in scale than World Summer Games, the 2017 World Winter Games inAustria involved 2,600 athletes from 105 countries competing in nine sports. Therecent 2017 Games turned out to be hugely successful. The Opening Ceremonyalone reached millions of viewers in more than 190 countries, marking thebroadest reach ever for a World Winter Games Opening Ceremony.
“It was wonderful to see that we all can change the world to be a betterand more inclusive place when we treat each other respectfully and mostimportantly: have fun together,” said Austria’s Federal Minister of SocialAffairs Alois Stöger.
The next World Games are set for March 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United ArabEmirates (UAE). UAE is breaking new ground as the first to host SpecialOlympics World Games in the Middle East/North Africa Region.
Learn more aboutthe Special Olympics World Games by contacting Lou Lauria, Global Chief ofGames and Competition, at llauria@specialolympics.org. For information about Special Olympics,please visit www.specialolympics.org.
