Attracting world leaders, celebrities, dignitaries and hundreds of thousands of spectators, the Special Olympics World Games are one of the most powerful and important vehicles for communicating to the world the abilities and gifts of people with intellectual disabilities, the most marginalized population on earth.
The World Games feature an average of 7,000 athletes competing in 26 sports over the course of 7-9 days. Approximately 3,000 athletes take part in our World Winter Games. They compete in 8 sports over 6-8 days.
Showcasing the true spirit of sport, these world-class sporting events are broadcast to hundreds of millions of viewers in the host countries and across the globe, featuring intense competition, inspiring performances and empowering stories of athletes with intellectual disabilities.
List of Special Olympics World Games:
1968 Chicago, IL
1970 Chicago, IL
1972 Los Angeles, CA
1975 Mt. Pleasant, MI
1977 Steamboat Springs, CO
1979 Brockport, NY
1981 Stowe, VT
1983 Baton Rouge, LA
1985 Park City, UT
1987 South Bend, IN
1989 Reno, NV
1991 Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
1993 Salzburg, Austria
1995 New Haven, CT
1997 Toronto, Canada
1999 Raleigh/Durham, NC
2001 Anchorage, AK
2003 Dublin, Ireland
2005 Nagano, Japan
2007 Shanghai, China
2009 Boise, ID
2011 Athens, Greece
2013 Pyeongchang, South Korea
2015 Los Angeles, CA
2017 Schladming/Graz, Austria
2019 Abu Dhabi, UAE
