The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games ( ar, 2019 الألعاب الأولمبية الصيفية الخاصة بألعاب العالم الصيفية, ) 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 ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

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 The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, 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 Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, s ...

", 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 However, all three countries had withdrawn their bids by April 2015.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 The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

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and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and the

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...

.The headliners of the ceremonies included

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, '' Let Go'' (2002), is the best-selling album of the 21 ...

Hussain Al Jassmi Hussain Al Jassmi ( ar, حسين الجسمي ; born August 25, 1979) is an Emirati pianist, composer, musician and singer who is well known in the Arab world. Al Jassmi was born in Khorfakkan in August 1979 to Emirati parents. He released his fir ...

, Assala Nasri, Tamer Hosny,

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mas ...

Sumi Jo Sumi Jo, OSI (; ; born 22 November 1962) is a South Korean lyric coloratura soprano known for her Grammy award-winning interpretations of the bel canto repertoire. Life and career Early life and education Jo was born Jo Su-gyeong in Chang ...

, Now United, and

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for multiple songs, one of them being " Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. Fonsi received his first ...

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 Jämtland County ( sv, Jämtlands län, ) is a county or '' län'' in the middle of Sweden consisting of the provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen, along with minor parts of Hälsingland and Ångermanland, plus two small uninhabited strips ...

, Sweden as the hosts of the

2021 Special Olympics World Winter Games The 2022 Special Olympics World Winter Games (russian: Всемирные зимние игры Специальной Олимпиады 2022 г.) were a cancelled international multi-sport event for athletes with intellectual disabilities plann ...

. The headliners of the ceremonies were

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the list of best-se ...

, Keala Settle, Now United,

Hamad Al Ameri Hamad may refer to: People *Hamad (name), an Arabic given name and surname * Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa (1872–1942), Ruler of Bahrain from 1932 until his death in 1942. * Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain since 2002. Cities and villages ...

, Rashed Al Majed and

Waleed Al Shami Waleed (), also spelt as Walid, Oualid, or Velid, is an Arabic-language masculine given name meaning ''newborn child''. Given name Waleed *Waleed Ali, Kuwaiti footballer * Waleed Aly, Egyptian-origin Australian journalist * Waleed bin Ibrahim al-I ...

. Before the ceremonies the music video of the game's theme song "Right Where I'm Supposed To Be" by Ryan Tedder,

, Assala Nasri and Tamer Hosny was premiered.

Venues

Events were held at nine venues across two emirates:

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre The Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (commonly abbreviated ADNEC) is an exhibition centre in Abu Dhabi. It was opened by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates on February 18, 2007. It was desig ...

* Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club * Al Forsan Resort *

Corniche A corniche is a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising on one side and falling away on the other. The word has been absorbed into English from the French term ' or "road on a ledge", originally derived from the Itali ...

* Yas Links Golf Club *

Yas Marina Circuit The Yas Marina Circuit (Arabic: حلبة مرسى ياس) is the venue for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, and is situated on Yas Island, near Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Yas Marina ...

Zayed Sports City Zayed Sports City Stadium ( ar, ستاد مدينة زايد الرياضية) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The largest stadium in the UAE with 45,000 seats, it has iconic status an ...

Dubai

* Dubai Police Club Stadium *

Hamdan Sports Complex The Hamdan Sports Complex is a multi-purpose sports arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The arena was completed in summer 2010. It hosted the 2010 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m), in which 153 countries participated. It also hosted the ...

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 The 2017 Special Olympic World Winter Games (german: 2017 Special Olympics World Winterspiele) officially called 11th Special Olympics World Winter Games is a Special Olympics, a multi-sports event that was held in Austria from March 14 through Ma ...

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popu ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The logo was projected on the

Burj Khalifa The Burj Khalifa (; ar, برج خليفة, , Khalifa Tower), known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is known for being the world’s tallest building. With a total height ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...

. The logo was inspired by

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (b ...

fronds woven together in an eastern Arabian cultural technique known in

Gulf Arabic Gulf Arabic ( ' local pronunciation: or ', local pronunciation: ) is a variety of the Arabic language spoken in Eastern Arabia around the coasts of the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, southern Iraq, eastern Sau ...

as ( ar, خوص), with the Special Olympics symbol in a red circle in the middle.

References

External links

Official website
{{S-end 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

Host selection

Ceremonies

Opening Ceremony

Closing Ceremony

Venues

Abu Dhabi

Dubai

Sports

Medals

Medal Table

Nations

Participating nations

Marketing

Logo and branding

Sponsors

Presenting Partner

Official Partners

Official Sponsors

Official Suppliers

Official Supporters

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

References

External links