2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games will be in Abu Dhabi

Special Olympics is excited to announce the 2019 World Summer Games will be in Abu Dhabi, UAE! #AbuDhabi2019

The Special Olympics International Board of Directors held a meeting in Washington, D.C. where they were pleased to award their flagship event and world’s largest humanitarian and sporting event of 2019, the Special Olympics World Games, to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Special Olympics International Board of Directors unanimously voted to award the World Games to Abu Dhabi based on a comprehensive bid proposal, a site visit by a Board Committee, and the country’s vision to create inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities throughout the UAE, their region and the world. A press conference detailing the event will follow at a later date in Abu Dhabi.

“Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi is revolutionary for our movement and for the Middle East region,” shared Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics Chairman. “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 region of the world.”

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