2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games

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. ESPN offered international coverage of the games.
The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games was the first Special Olympics games to take place in the Middle East, were also the first to be held in winter/autumn in the host city and the largest sports and humanitarian event recorded, featuring 200 National Programs, more than 7,000 athletes and 20,000 registered volunteers. 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".
Host selection
Three finalists were chosen from the countries which had submitted bids to host the games: Australia, Germany (which was chosen latter to host the 2023 Games), and South Africa. However, all three countries had withdrawn their bids by April 2015.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 extreme climate, the games were held during the local late winter/early spring season for the first time, from March 14–21, 2019.
Ceremonies
Opening ceremony
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:
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
Sports
The following competitions took place:
Medals
Medal table
Nations
Participating nations
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 , with the Special Olympics symbol in a red circle in the middle.
Sponsors
Source:
Presenting partner
ADNOC
Official partners
ADNEC
Aldar Properties
Al Masaood LLC (Nissan)
The Coca-Cola Company
Abu Dhabi Department of Energy
Emaar Properties
Etihad Airways
Etisalat
First Abu Dhabi Bank
Mubadala Development Company
Official sponsors
Emirates Foundation
Lulu Hypermarket
Meydan
Nirvana Travel & Tourism
NMC Health
Noon
SoftBank
Official suppliers
Abu Dhabi Global Market
Careem
CreatorUp!
Crescent Petroleum
Daman
EF Education First
Ernst & Young
Essilor
Golisano Foundation
iWire
KPMG
Lions Clubs International
Marriott International
Perfect Sense
Pierce Footwear
Prometheus Medical
Safilo Group
SAS Institute
Starkey Hearing Foundation
Starkey Hearing Technologies
Wicked
Official supporters
Al Sahraa
CYVIZ
Deloitte
Dubai Airports Company
Duracell
Emirates Palace
Falcon Drones
Flow Solutions
Hadef and Partners
Techno Solutions
Khateb and Alami
Liberty Sport
Riedel Communications
SEDRA Foundation
Seiko
Salem Al Shueibi Jewelry
Transportation Management Services
SAP SE (Tyconz)
Smart Design
SmartKiosk
Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs
Host, broadcast, media, government and venue partners and supporters
Abu Dhabi Media
Abu Dhabi Sailing & Yacht Club
Abu Dhabi Sports Council
Al Forsan International Sports Resort
Al Roya
Corniche (Abu Dhabi)
Department of Culture and Tourism
ESPN
Hamdan Sports Complex
Seha
Sky News Arabia
The National (Abu Dhabi)
WWE
Yas Links
Yas Marina Circuit
Zayed Sports City
References
External links
Official website
Special Olympics World Summer Games
Special Olympics World Summer Games
Special Olympics World Summer Games
2019 in Emirati sport
Multi-sport events in the United Arab Emirates
International sports competitions hosted by the United Arab Emirates
Sports competitions in Abu Dhabi
Special Olympics World Games