# 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games

The 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games, officially known as the XVI Special Olympic World Games or Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 (German: Special Olympics Weltspiele 2023), was the 16th summer Special Olympics. Held in Berlin, Germany, the Special Olympics lasted nine days, from 17 to 25 June 2023. It marked the first time that Germany has hosted the Special Olympics World Games. About 6,500 athletes and unified partners from approximately 178 countries competed in 26 sports, supported by 3,000 coaches and 18,000 volunteers.

## Host selection

The bid process was opened in November 2017. Berlin, Germany was selected as the host city on 13 November 2018 at the Global Athlete Congress in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. On 30 January 2020, Berlin was officially confirmed as the host city for the games.

## Venues

Events took place in fifteen venues:
* Olympiapark Berlin
** Olympiastadion (opening ceremony)
** August-Bier-Platz (futsal)
** Eissporthalle Charlottenburg [de] (roller skating)
** Hanns-Braun-Stadion (athletics)
** Hockey-Stadion [de] (field hockey)
** Horst-Korber-Sportzentrum (handball)
** Maifeld (football)
** Reitclub am Olympiapark (equestrian)
* Messe Berlin (badminton, basketball, bocce, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, judo, powerlifting, table tennis, volleyball)
* SC Brandenburg Berlin (tennis)
* Neptunbrunnen (3x3 basketball)
* Straße des 17. Juni (cycling, closing ceremony)
* BeachMitte (beach volleyball)
* Schwimm- und Sprunghalle im Europasportpark [de] (SSE) (swimming)
* Wannsee (sailing)
* Bowling World on Mercedes-Platz (bowling)
* regatta course Grünau (kayak, open water swimming)
* Golf Club Bad Saarow (golf)

## The Games
### Ceremonies
#### Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held at the Olympiastadion on 17 June 2023. President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier opened the games officially. Special Olympics chairman Timothy Shriver, German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner, and former Olympic athletes Dirk Nowitzki and Felix Neureuther also took part in the ceremony. The torch was lit by Special Olympic tennis player Sophie Rensmann. Blue Man Group took part in a couple musical performances during the ceremony.

#### Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony was held on Straße des 17. Juni in front of the Brandenburg Gate on 25 June 2023.

### Sports

Competitions were held in the following 26 sports:
* 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games
* Aquatics
* Open water swimming (details)
* Swimming (details)
* Athletics (details)
* Badminton (details)
* Basketball (details)
* Basketball 3x3 (details)
* Beach volleyball (details)
* Bocce (details)
* Bowling (details)
* Cycling (details)
* Equestrian (details)
* Field hockey (details)
* Cricket (details)
* Football (details)
* Futsal (details)
* Golf (details)
* Gymnastics
* Artistic gymnastics (details)
* Rhythmic gymnastics (details)
* Handball (details)
* Judo (details)
* Kayaking (details)
* Powerlifting (details)
* Roller skating (details)
* Sailing (details)
* Table tennis (details)
* Tennis (details)
* Volleyball (details)
Basketball 3x3 made its debut at the Special Olympics and Field Hockey was featured as a demonstration sport.

### Medals

The top three finishers of each competition were honored with gold, silver and bronze medals, while the fourth to eighth place finishers received ribbons with their placement printed on them. More than 4000 medals and 6600 placement ribbons were presented at 1,334 award ceremonies.

#### Medal table

Unlike the Olympic and Paralympic Games the Special Olympics do not provide an official medal table, since there is supposed to be no competitive pressure among the nations. Apart from the medals and placement ribbons, participants who were disqualified or did not finish their competition were also awarded with participation ribbons in order to promote sportsmanship.
* Host nation (Germany)
Medals won by participating delegations :
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | India | 100 | 100 | 100 | 300 |
| 2 | Germany* | 79 | 72 | 96 | 247 |
| 3 | China | 56 | 36 | 27 | 119 |
| 4 | Great Britain | 49 | 36 | 18 | 103 |
| 5 | Canada | 46 | 20 | 29 | 95 |
| 6 | Hong Kong | 39 | 25 | 12 | 76 |
| 7 | Belgium | 34 | 29 | 17 | 80 |
| 8 | United States | 32 | 45 | 33 | 110 |
| 9 | Hungary | 30 | 26 | 16 | 72 |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 25 | 4 | 5 | 34 |
| 11 | Greece | 24 | 15 | 24 | 63 |
| 12 | Italy | 23 | 29 | 24 | 76 |
| 13 | Costa Rica | 23 | 28 | 37 | 88 |
| 14 | Switzerland | 23 | 22 | 10 | 55 |
| 15 | South Korea | 23 | 21 | 16 | 60 |
| 16 | Finland | 23 | 18 | 13 | 54 |
| 17 | Ireland | 22 | 19 | 30 | 71 |
| 18 | Lithuania | 22 | 11 | 4 | 37 |
| 19 | United Arab Emirates | 19 | 21 | 26 | 66 |
| 20 | Romania | 18 | 18 | 7 | 43 |
| 21 | Puerto Rico | 18 | 17 | 12 | 47 |
| 22 | Netherlands | 17 | 16 | 28 | 61 |
| 23 | Paraguay | 17 | 14 | 12 | 43 |
| 24 | Norway | 16 | 22 | 12 | 50 |
| 25 | Egypt | 16 | 13 | 22 | 51 |
| 26 | Chinese Taipei | 16 | 13 | 10 | 39 |
| 27 | Malta | 16 | 11 | 5 | 32 |
| 28 | Poland | 15 | 26 | 16 | 57 |
| 29 | Australia | 15 | 22 | 26 | 63 |
| 30 | Macau | 15 | 12 | 8 | 35 |
| 31 | Kenya | 15 | 4 | 6 | 25 |
| 32 | Iceland | 14 | 16 | 13 | 43 |
| 33 | Sweden | 14 | 7 | 12 | 33 |
| 34 | Austria | 13 | 16 | 16 | 45 |
| 35 | Mexico | 13 | 8 | 11 | 32 |
| 36 | Venezuela | 11 | 12 | 16 | 39 |
| 37 | Pakistan | 10 | 20 | 18 | 48 |
| 38 | Slovakia | 10 | 16 | 13 | 39 |
| 39 | Spain | 10 | 13 | 15 | 38 |
| 40 | Thailand | 10 | 11 | 5 | 26 |
| 41 | Kazakhstan | 10 | 10 | 14 | 34 |
| 42 | South Africa | 10 | 9 | 7 | 26 |
| 43 | Israel | 10 | 8 | 8 | 26 |
| 44 | Indonesia | 10 | 5 | 8 | 23 |
| 45 | Ivory Coast | 10 | 5 | 6 | 21 |
| 46 | Denmark | 9 | 19 | 15 | 43 |
| 47 | Estonia | 9 | 14 | 13 | 36 |
| 48 | Japan | 9 | 7 | 10 | 26 |
| 49 | Jamaica | 9 | 5 | 4 | 18 |
| 50 | Cyprus | 8 | 14 | 9 | 31 |
| 51 | Czech Republic | 8 | 12 | 6 | 26 |
| 52 | Portugal | 8 | 11 | 8 | 27 |
| 53 | Saudi Arabia | 8 | 6 | 10 | 24 |
| 54 | Monaco | 8 | 6 | 5 | 19 |
| 55 | Dominican Republic | 8 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| 56 | El Salvador | 7 | 15 | 9 | 31 |
| 57 | Ecuador | 7 | 11 | 11 | 29 |
| 58 | Kuwait | 7 | 9 | 4 | 20 |
| 59 | Syria | 7 | 8 | 10 | 25 |
| 60 | Brazil | 7 | 8 | 9 | 24 |
| 61 | Libya | 7 | 6 | 9 | 22 |
| 62 | Serbia | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| 63 | Panama | 7 | 4 | 8 | 19 |
| 64 | Jordan | 7 | 3 | 10 | 20 |
| 65 | Palestine | 7 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| 66 | Oman | 6 | 9 | 14 | 29 |
| 67 | Slovenia | 6 | 8 | 4 | 18 |
| 68 | Bulgaria | 6 | 5 | 9 | 20 |
| 69 | Bolivia | 6 | 5 | 6 | 17 |
| 70 | Azerbaijan | 6 | 4 | 13 | 23 |
| 71 | Chile | 6 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
| 72 | Bahrain | 6 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| 72 | Malawi | 6 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| 74 | Singapore | 6 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 75 | New Zealand | 5 | 17 | 12 | 34 |
| 76 | Uzbekistan | 5 | 13 | 14 | 32 |
| 77 | Guatemala | 5 | 10 | 7 | 22 |
| 78 | France | 5 | 9 | 11 | 25 |
| 79 | Ukraine | 5 | 9 | 7 | 21 |
| 80 | Colombia | 5 | 9 | 6 | 20 |
| 81 | Trinidad and Tobago | 5 | 7 | 8 | 20 |
| 82 | Gibraltar | 5 | 7 | 4 | 16 |
| 83 | Luxembourg | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| 84 | Faroe Islands | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| 85 | Honduras | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| 86 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 5 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 87 | Burkina Faso | 4 | 6 | 5 | 15 |
| 88 | Malaysia | 4 | 5 | 9 | 18 |
| 89 | Morocco | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 90 | Isle of Man | 4 | 4 | 10 | 18 |
| 91 | Iraq | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 92 | Latvia | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 93 | Nauru | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 94 | Philippines | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 95 | Uruguay | 3 | 12 | 9 | 24 |
| 96 | Fiji | 3 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
| 97 | San Marino | 3 | 6 | 3 | 12 |
| 98 | Peru | 3 | 6 | 2 | 11 |
| 99 | Argentina | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| 100 | Tunisia | 3 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| 101 | Senegal | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| 102 | Andorra | 3 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| 103 | Cuba | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 104 | Benin | 3 | 2 | 7 | 12 |
| 105 | Iran | 3 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| 106 | Zambia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 107 | Georgia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 108 | Mongolia | 2 | 6 | 6 | 14 |
| 109 | Mauritius | 2 | 6 | 5 | 13 |
| 110 | Suriname | 2 | 5 | 13 | 20 |
| 111 | Turkmenistan | 2 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| 112 | Botswana | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 113 | Cayman Islands | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 |
| 114 | Lebanon | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 115 | Seychelles | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| 116 | Zimbabwe | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 117 | Liechtenstein | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 118 | Aruba | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 118 | Curaçao | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 120 | Uganda | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 121 | Bermuda | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 |
| 122 | Timor-Leste | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 122 | Turkey | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 124 | Bhutan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 124 | Bonaire | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 126 | Croatia | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| 127 | Maldives | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 128 | Armenia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 128 | Tajikistan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 130 | Nicaragua | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 131 | Guadeloupe | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 132 | Albania | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 132 | Haiti | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 132 | North Macedonia | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 135 | Guyana | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 135 | Namibia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 137 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 138 | Kosovo | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 138 | Rwanda | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 138 | Vietnam | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 141 | Antigua and Barbuda | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 142 | Cameroon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 142 | Guinea | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 142 | Mali | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 145 | Algeria | 0 | 9 | 10 | 19 |
| 146 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 147 | Dominica | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 148 | Bahamas | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 149 | Papua New Guinea | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 149 | South Sudan | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 151 | Belize | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 151 | Qatar | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 153 | Ghana | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 153 | Togo | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 155 | Cambodia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 155 | Lesotho | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 155 | Montenegro | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 155 | Samoa | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 159 | DR Congo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 159 | Laos | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 159 | Moldova | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 159 | Saint Lucia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 163 | Cape Verde | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 163 | Kyrgyzstan | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 163 | Palau | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 166 | Eswatini | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 166 | Gambia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 166 | Madagascar | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 166 | Tanzania | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (169 entries) | Totals (169 entries) | 1,439 | 1,417 | 1,392 | 4,248 |

## Calendar

    All times and dates use Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)
| OC | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | 1 | Gold medal events | CC | Closing ceremony |
| June 2023 | June 2023 | June | June | June | June | June | June | June | June | June | Events |
| June 2023 | June 2023 | 17th Sat | 18th Sun | 19th Mon | 20th Tue | 21st Wed | 22nd Thu | 23rd Fri | 24th Sat | 25th Sun | Events |
| Ceremonies | Ceremonies | OC | | | | | | | | CC | — |
| Aquatics | Marathon swimming | | ● | 5 | | | | | | | 5 |
| Aquatics | Swimming | | ● | ● | 14 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 5 | | 44 |
| Athletics | Athletics | | ● | 12 | 34 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 97 |
| Badminton | Badminton | | ● | ● | ● | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | | 10 |
| Basketball | Basketball | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 4 | | 4 |
| Boccia | Boccia | | ● | ● | | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | | 6 |
| Bowling | Bowling | | ● | ● | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 14 |
| Cycling | Cycling | | ● | ● | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Equestrian | Equestrian | | | ● | 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 20 |
| Field hockey | Field hockey | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | | 1 |
| Football | Football | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | | 4 |
| Futsal | Futsal | | | ● | ● | ● | | ● | 3 | | 3 |
| Golf | Golf | | | ● | ● | ● | 5 | | | | 5 |
| Artistic gymnastics | Artistic gymnastics | | | | | | | ● | 48 | | 48 |
| Rhythmic gymnastics | Rhythmic gymnastics | ● | 21 | 44 | 53 | 12 | | | | | 130 |
| Handball | Handball | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | | 2 |
| Judo | Judo | | | ● | ● | | 6 | 6 | 6 | | 18 |
| Kayaking | Kayaking | | | | | ● | 4 | ● | 5 | | 9 |
| Powerlifting | Powerlifting | | | 18 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | | 79 |
| Roller skating | Roller skating | | ● | ● | 11 | 2 | | 2 | 2 | | 17 |
| Sailing | Sailing | | | ● | ● | | ● | ● | 3 | | 3 |
| Table tennis | Table tennis | | ● | ● | | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | 8 |
| Tennis | Tennis | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 8 | 6 | | 14 |
| Beach volleyball | Beach volleyball | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | | 2 |
| Volleyball | Volleyball | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | | 2 |
| Daily medal events | Daily medal events | | 21 | 79 | 156 | 64 | 58 | 58 | 113 | 4 | 553 |
| Cumulative total | Cumulative total | | 21 | 100 | 256 | 320 | 378 | 436 | 549 | 553 | 553 |
| June 2023 | June 2023 | 17th Sat | 18th Sun | 19th Mon | 20th Tue | 21st Wed | 22nd Thu | 23rd Fri | 24th Sat | 25th Sun | Total events |
| Total events |||||||||

## Participating National Programs

Below is a list of all 178 participating delegations. The number of competitors per delegation is indicated in parentheses.
* Delegations to the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games
* Albania (10)
* Algeria (23)
* Andorra (13)
* Antigua and Barbuda (4)
* Argentina (10)
* Armenia (4)
* Aruba (17)
* Australia (64)
* Austria (74)
* Azerbaijan (49)
* Bahamas (7)
* Bahrain (15)
* Bangladesh (79)
* Belgium (88)
* Belize (4)
* Benin (9)
* Bermuda (19)
* Bhutan (4)
* Bolivia (6)
* Bonaire (6)
* Bosnia and Herzegovina (25)
* Botswana (26)
* Brazil (25)
* Bulgaria (40)
* Burkina Faso (23)
* Burundi (3)
* Cambodia (4)
* Cameroon (2)
* Canada (89)
* Cape Verde (3)
* Cayman Islands (16)
* Chile (38)
* China (89)
* Chinese Taipei (66)
* Colombia (19)
* Costa Rica (104)
* Croatia (12)
* Cuba (11)
* Curaçao (11)
* Cyprus (35)
* Czech Republic (54)
* Democratic Republic of the Congo (4)
* Denmark (68)
* Dominica (8)
* Dominican Republic (13)
* Timor-Leste (6)
* Ecuador (18)
* Egypt (65)
* El Salvador (17)
* Estonia (32)
* Eswatini (2)
* Ethiopia (4)
* Faroe Islands (12)
* Fiji (12)
* Finland (65)
* France (64)
* The Gambia (2)
* Georgia (4)
* Germany (408) (Host)
* Ghana (18)
* Gibraltar (26)
* Great Britain (82)
* Greece (67) (Hellas)
* Guadeloupe (17)
* Guatemala (30)
* Guinea (2)
* Guinea-Bissau (2)
* Guyana (3)
* Haiti (6)
* Honduras (13)
* Hong Kong (81)
* Hungary (77)
* Iceland (30)
* India (195) (Bharat)
* Indonesia (25)
* Iran (24)
* Iraq (24)
* Ireland (73)
* Isle of Man (18)
* Israel (38)
* Italy (96)
* Ivory Coast (73)
* Jamaica (47)
* Japan (45) (Nippon)
* Jordan (20)
* Kazakhstan (53)
* Kenya (66)
* Kosovo (4)
* Kuwait (26)
* Kyrgyzstan (6)
* Laos (3)
* Latvia (20)
* Lebanon (17)
* Lesotho (3)
* Libya (17)
* Liechtenstein (6)
* Lithuania (38)
* Luxembourg (26)
* Macau (40)
* Madagascar (3)
* Malawi (14)
* Malaysia (22)
* Maldives (6)
* Mali (12)
* Malta (28)
* Marshall Islands (2)
* Mauritania (5)
* Mauritius (23)
* Mexico (26)
* Moldova (18)
* Monaco (30)
* Montenegro (10)
* Mongolia (44)
* Morocco (46)
* Mozambique (3)
* Namibia (9)
* Nauru (2)
* Netherlands (59)
* New Zealand (39)
* Nicaragua (18)
* Nigeria (3)
* North Macedonia (19)
* Norway (43)
* Oman (36)
* Pakistan (85)
* Palau (2)
* Palestine (25)
* Panama (18)
* Papua New Guinea (4)
* Paraguay (55)
* Peru (23)
* Philippines (8) (Pilipinas)
* Poland (70)
* Portugal (40)
* Puerto Rico (49)
* Qatar (6)
* Republic of the Congo (2)
* Romania (31)
* Rwanda (16)
* Saint Kitts and Nevis (14)
* Saint Lucia (11)
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (9)
* Samoa (11)
* San Marino (14)
* Saudi Arabia (84)
* Senegal (30)
* Serbia (60)
* Seychelles (10)
* Singapore (30)
* Sint Maarten (2)
* Slovakia (51)
* Slovenia (26)
* Spain (76)
* Sweden (41)
* Switzerland (73)
* South Africa (63)
* South Korea (104)
* South Sudan (3)
* Suriname (17)
* Syria (16)
* Tajikistan (4)
* Tanzania (20)
* Thailand (35)
* Togo (6)
* Trinidad and Tobago (16)
* Tunisia (17)
* Turkey (11)
* Turkmenistan (11)
* Uganda (29)
* Ukraine (23)
* United Arab Emirates (101)
* United States (128)
* Uruguay (58)
* Uzbekistan (23)
* Venezuela (21)
* Vietnam (6)
* Zambia (9)
* Zimbabwe (12)

## Marketing
### Logo, branding and slogan

The logo and slogan were unveiled on December 14, 2021, at the Sky Deutschland studio. The emblem, which brings together solid colors and images of Berlin, was designed with the help of Special Olympics athletes. During a workshop, they shared their thoughts and feelings about the Games and inclusion. The list of feelings participants chose to be incorporated in the logo, which are represented by shapes and the five main logo colors, are joy, togetherness, excitement, pride and passion. Additionally, iconic symbols of Berlin are used to welcome athletes and visitors to the city. The Berlin Bear, in green, can be found on the city's coat of arms. Logo designers also felt it was important to honor Berlin's ability to overcome a past of separation and isolation after the city was divided at the end of World War II. The Brandenburg Gate, in red, and Fernsehturm Tower, in fuchsia, celebrate a unified city and Berlin as the capital of one Germany. Overall, the logo was created to evoke a sense of unity, diversity, playfulness and connection. The slogan #UnbeatableTogether or in German #ZusammenUnschlagbar represents Togetherness and overcoming borders collectively are main elements of the logo.