From March 14 to 21, 7,500 athletes and 3,000 coaches representing more than 176 nations will participate in 24 officially sanctioned Olympic-style sports in venues throughout Abu Dhabi.
The Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi will be the largest sports and humanitarian events in the world this year.
The first ever Special Olympics World Games to be held in the Middle East and North Africa will also be the most unified Games in the 50-year history of the Special Olympics movement, with inclusion of people of determination with intellectual disabilities in every aspect of the event.
#MeetTheDetermined
‘Meet the Determined’ is the World Games message to the world, inviting audiences to attend or watch the Games, whilst celebrating the courage and talent of Special Olympics athletes.
The campaign highlights the extraordinary talent of participating Special Olympics athletes. The athletes participating in the campaign will give a voice to People of Determination in the UAE and around the world.
‘Meet the Determined’ celebrates the abilities of People of Determination and aims to change perceptions of intellectual disabilities by highlighting the stories of courage and determination of Special Olympics athletes.
The legacy of the Games
This includes the addition of 14 new Founding Committees from Africa Region, brand new to the Special Olympics movement! These include Burundi, Cape Verde, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger and South Sudan. Read more about our Founding Committees here.
Participating Programs from Africa Region
Special Olympics Benin
Special Olympics Botswana
Special Olympics Burkina Faso
Special Olympics Burundi*
Special Olympics Cape Verde*
Special Olympics Chad*
Special Olympics Congo*
Special Olympics Côte d’Ivoire
Special Olympics Democratic Republic of the Congo
Special Olympics Equatorial Guinea*
Special Olympics Ethiopia*
Special Olympics Gambia*
Special Olympics Ghana
Special Olympics Guinea*
Special Olympics Guinea Bissau*
Special Olympics Kenya
Special Olympics Lesotho*
Special Olympics Liberia*
Special Olympics Madagascar*
Special Olympics Malawi
Special Olympics Mali*
Special Olympics Mauritius
Special Olympics Mozambique*
Special Olympics Namibia*
Special Olympics Niger*
Special Olympics Nigeria
Special Olympics Rwanda
Special Olympics Senegal
Special Olympics Seychelles
Special Olympics South Africa
Special Olympics South Sudan*
Special Olympics Swaziland
Special Olympics Tanzania
Special Olympics Togo
Special Olympics Uganda
Special Olympics Zambia
Special Olympics Zimbabwe
*Programs with an asterisk reflect Founding committee status.
Observer Programs from Africa Region
Sierra Leone
Central African Republic (CAR)
Gabon
