Special Olympics World Games

Principles

Although local Special Olympics events and competitions are held around the world every day, the World Games are flagship events. The goal is to showcase the skills and accomplishments of people with intellectual disabilities on a global stage. The World Games feature more than a week of competitions involving thousands of participants. Through media coverage of the Games, the stories and achievements of children and adults with intellectual disabilities are made known to millions of people worldwide.

Special Olympics World Games take place every two years and alternate between Summer and Winter Games, a schedule similar to the Olympics and Paralympics. Attracting as many as 350,000 volunteers and coaches, plus several thousands of athletes, these World Games can be the world's largest sporting event of the year.

Special Olympics athletes can compete in 32 Olympic-style summer or winter sports. The athletes are adults and children with intellectual disabilities who can range from gifted, world-class competitors to average athletes to those with limited physical ability. In Special Olympics competitions, athletes are matched up according to their ability and age. This “divisioning” process is an effort to make every competition fair, competitive and exciting for athletes as well as fans.

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History

The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, US, in 1968, while the first International Special Olympics Winter Games were held in February 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, US. In 1991, the name was officially changed from International Special Olympics Summer/Winter Games to Special Olympics World Summer/Winter Games.

The 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games received more than half of its funding from private corporations. Olympic historian Bob Barney stated "companies that donate millions might want say in how an event is run", but also felt it positive since "it brings the games to a much larger viewing audience".

In 2011, Special Olympics World Summer Games were held on June 25 – July 4 in Athens, Greece, involving 6,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 170 countries.

In 2013, the Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in PyeongChang, South Korea, from Jan. 29 – Feb. 5. The Host Town program, in which families host Special Olympics athletes from around the world to help them acclimate to the host country and customs, began on Jan. 26, 2013.

In 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games . These games were the first Special Olympics World Summer Games held in the United States in 16 years since the 1999 Summer Games held in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Graz and Schladming in Styria, Austria. This marked a return: Salzburg and Schladming, Austria hosted the fifth Special Olympics World Winter Games in 1993. These were the first Special Olympics World Games held outside the United States. The 2017 World Winter Games were held on March 14–25, 2017.

Kazan, Russia, was due to host the Winter Special Olympics between January 23–29, 2023. Originally to be held in Åre and Östersund, Sweden, however the Swedish Government withdrew its hosting rights in December 2019 due to financial problems. The event had been postponed to January 2023 due a rise of COVID-19 cases. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the event was cancelled due to logistical and safety issues.

The 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games were held June 17–25, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. These were the first Special Olympics World Games to be held in Germany. Competitions were held in 24 sports.

Turin, Italy, held the World Winter Games in March 2025. It marked the first time that Italy has hosted the Special Olympics World Games.

Santiago, Chile, will host the next World Summer Games in 2027. It will mark the first time the Special Olympics World Games will be staged in the Southern Hemisphere. It will also be the first time it will be held in Latin America and a Spanish speaking country.

Editions

¹ Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was originally selected to host the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Due to financial problems and the constant delay in reconstruction of the venues that originally hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics, Sarajevo gave up hosting the Special Olympics and Boise, Idaho, was invited to host instead.

² It was planned that Åre and Östersund, Sweden, would host the 2021 World Winter Games between February 2 to 13, 2021. However, on December 20, 2019, it was announced that the Swedish Paralympic Committee vetoed the necessary financing for the continuity of the event in the country, invalidating a promise made during the bid process. On June 29, 2020, it was announced that Kazan would host the Winter Games in 2022.

The sport of powerlifting (Special Olympics) was represented for the first time in 1983.
Table tennis, tennis, and football have been Special Olympics sports since 1987.

Sports

Official summer sports

See footnote

Official winter sports

See footnote

Recognised sports

Demonstration sports

Stick Shooting

Unified Cup (association football)

Unified Cup

2018 Unified Cup, Chicago
2022 Unified Cup, Detroit

Mascots

Regional games

Zones

204 National Programs in 7 Continental Zones (Updated at December 17, 2022):

Asia Pacific Games

In 2013, Australia hosted the first ever Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games.

Special Olympics European Games

1990 Strathclyde
2000 Groningen
2014 Antwerp

USA Games

Middle East and North Africa Games

MENA games

Games

1999 Egypt
2000 Rabat
2002 Beirut
2004 Tunis
2006 Dubai
2008 Abu-Dhabi
2010 Damascus
2014 Cairo
2018 United Arab Emirates

Equestrian Competitions

2025 United Arab Emirates

Pan African Games

First ever Pan African Games in 2020 in Cairo, Egypt.

2020 Cairo
Next:

Latin American Games

Latin American Special Olympics Games:

4th Latin American Special Olympics - Asunción, Paraguay 2024