2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games

The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games were a special olympics multi-sport event for athletes with intellectual disabilities in the tradition of the Special Olympics movement. It was held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from March 14–21, 2019.[1] ESPN offered international coverage of the games.[2]

15th Special Olympics World Summer Games
Host cityAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
MottoMeet the Determined
(Arabic: تلبية العزم)
Nations participating190
Athletes participating7,500
Events24
Opening ceremonyMarch 14
Closing ceremonyMarch 21
Officially opened byMohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Main venueZayed Sports City Stadium
WebsiteOfficial website
Summer
Winter

The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games was the first Special Olympics games to take place in the Middle East and the largest sports and humanitarian event recorded, featuring 200 nations, more than 7,000 athletes and 20,000 registered volunteers.[3] Since 2017 and following its national policy, the United Arab Emirates coined the term "determination" instead of "disability", referring to disabled people as "People of Determination".[3]

Host selection

Three finalists were chosen from the countries which had submitted bids to host the games: Australia, Germany (which will host in 2023 in Berlin), and South Africa.[4] However, all three countries had withdrawn their bids by April 2015.

In November 2016 it was announced that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi would host the 2019 summer games. This was the first time that the Special Olympics were to be held in the Middle East / North Africa Region. Due to the region's climate, the games were held during the local late winter/early spring season, from March 14–21, 2019.[5]

Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi.

It was held at Zayed Sports City Stadium which also held the FIFA Club World Cup in 2017 and 2018 and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.The headliners of the ceremonies included Avril Lavigne, Hussain Al Jassmi, Assala Nasri, Tamer Hosny, Paul Oakenfold, Sumi Jo, Now United, and Luis Fonsi.

Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony took place on 21 March 2019 at the Zayed Sports City Stadium where the Special Olympics flag was handed over from Abu Dhabi to Jämtland County, Sweden as the hosts of the 2021 Special Olympics World Winter Games. The headliners of the ceremonies were Nicole Scherzinger, Keala Settle, Now United, Hamad Al Ameri, Rashed Al Majed and Waleed Al Shami.Before the ceremonies the music video of the game's theme song "Right Where I'm Supposed To Be" by Ryan Tedder, Avril Lavigne, Luis Fonsi, Hussain Al Jassmi, Assala Nasri and Tamer Hosny was premiered.

Venues

Events were held at nine venues across two emirates:[6]

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre

Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club

Al Forsan Resort

Corniche

Yas Links Golf Club

Yas Marina Circuit

Zayed Sports City

Dubai

Dubai Police Club Stadium

Hamdan Sports Complex

Participating nations
Delegations to the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games[7]

Marketing

Logo and branding

The logo was unveiled on March 25, 2017 during the handover at the closing ceremony of the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Graz, Austria. The logo was projected on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The logo was inspired by palm fronds woven together in an eastern Arabian cultural technique known in Gulf Arabic as khoos (Arabic: خوص‎), with the Special Olympics symbol in a red circle in the middle.[11]

Sponsors

Source:[12]

Presenting Partner

Official Partners

Official Sponsors

Official Suppliers

Official Supporters

Host, Broadcast, Media, Government and Venue Partners and Supporters

References
  1. Report, Staff (16 November 2016). "Abu Dhabi to host 2019 Special Olympic World Games".
  2. Couch, Teri (2019-03-18). "Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019: Monday, March 18". ESPN MediaZone U.S. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  3. Jerusalem Post (9 March 2019). "United Arab Emirates to be First in Middle Est to Host Special Olympics".
  4. "2019 Special Olympics World Games Finalists Announced". Special Olympics (specialolympics.org). Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  5. "World Games in MENA for the First Time". specialolympics.org.
  6. "Venues". English. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  7. "Delegations". 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games. 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games Organizing Committee. Archived from the original on 2015-07-24. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  8. "Special Olympics Bharat".
  9. "Special Olympics Republic of the Congo Brazzaville".
  10. "Special Olympics Sri Lanka".
  11. "Abu Dhabi Launches Countdown to Special Olympics World Games 2019". broadwayworld.com. 27 March 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  12. https://www.abudhabi2019.org/get-involved/sponsors
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