Abu Dhabi: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has lauded the UAE for winning the bid to host the 2019 Special Olympics World Games.
The Special Olympics international board of directors on Wednesday voted unanimously to award the extravaganza to the UAE, which will be the region’s first sporting event for those with special needs and disabilities.
This followed a thorough bid proposal, a site visit by a board committee and the country’s vision to foster inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities.
Shaikh Mohammad said the groundbreaking decision reflects the world’s confidence in the UAE’s capabilities.
In a series of tweets, he said: “I congratulate the UAE President, Emiratis and athletes on UAE’s winning the bid to host the 2019 Special Olympics World Games. The UAE’s hosting of the 2019 Special Olympics World Games reflects the world’s confidence in UAE’s capabilities, youth and humanitarian image.
“We welcome the world’s best athletes to the UAE, congratulate the Special Olympics leadership on promoting inclusion and tolerance through sport.”
“I’d like to thank special needs athletes for their achievements and distinguished record, which boosted our winning bid of hosting the World Games,” he added.
The Special Olympics World Games are recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), take place every two years and alternate between Summer and Winter Games, a schedule similar to the Olympics and Paralympics. They attract several thousand athletes to compete in 32 Olympic-style summer or winter sports. The athletes are adults and children with intellectual disabilities who can range from world-class competitors to average athletes, to those with limited physical ability.
It’s an essential rule of Special Olympics competitions that athletes are matched up according to their ability and age.
Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics chairman, said of Abu Dhabi’s successful bid: “There’s no better or more profound location than Abu Dhabi to invite the world to come together in celebration of sport, in celebration of people of all kinds, and to demonstrate to the world that the lines of division can be erased. We are thrilled to be the first fully global multisport games of this size to be staged in the Middle East.”
SPECIAL OLYMPIC WORLD GAMES’ HISTORY AND FUTURE
* The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, in July-August 1968, while the first International Special Olympics Winter Games were staged in February 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
* In 1991, the name was officially changed from International Special Olympics Summer/Winter Games to Special Olympics World Summer/Winter Games.
* The most recent Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in PyeongChang, South Korea, between January and February 2013.
* The last Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in Los Angeles, California, from July-August 2015.
* The next World Winter Games will be the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Graz and Schladming in Austria.
* The date for the 2019 Abu Dhabi showpiece is yet to be decided, but Austria will hand over the baton to the UAE in March once its event is over.
