Jump to content

2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
15th Special Olympics World Summer Games
الألعاب الصيفية العالمية الخامسة عشرة للأولمبياد الخاص
Host cityAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
MottoMeet the Determined
(Arabic: تلبية العزم)
Nations195
Athletes7,500
Events22 Sports
OpeningMarch 14
ClosingMarch 21
Opened byMohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Main venueZayed Sports City Stadium
WebsiteOfficial website
Summer
Winter

The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games (Arabic: 2019 الألعاب الأولمبية الصيفية الخاصة بألعاب العالم الصيفية, 2019 al'aleab al'uwlimbiat alsayfiat alkhasat bi'aleab alealam alsayfia) 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.[1] ESPN offered international coverage of the games.[2]

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.[3] 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".[3]

Host selection

[edit]

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Germany (which was chosen latter to host the 2023 Games), and South Africa.[4] However, all three countries had withdrawn their bids by April 2015.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.[5]

Ceremonies

[edit]

Opening ceremony

[edit]
The closing ceremony of the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi.

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

Events were held at nine venues across two emirates:[6]

Abu Dhabi

[edit]

Dubai

[edit]

Sports

[edit]

The following competitions took place:[7]

2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games

Medals

[edit]

Medal table

[edit]

Nations

[edit]

  *   Host nation (United Arab Emirates)

Medals won by participating delegations
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Canada903728155
2 Russia875134172
3 India729995266
4 United States726170203
5 United Arab Emirates*645463181
6 Great Britain635749169
7 China586039157
8 Hong Kong45242089
9 Australia424455141
10 South Korea42262896
11 Germany414328112
12 Syria364424104
13 Hungary31251268
14 Netherlands31181968
15 Ireland30292786
16 Egypt30252479
17 Poland30211970
18 Greece27201764
19 Belgium24212267
20 Libya24211560
21 Chinese Taipei2321852
22 Bangladesh229637
23 Italy214145107
24 South Africa20121244
25 Pakistan18281561
26 Trinidad and Tobago18152356
27 Saudi Arabia1891340
28 Cyprus17191046
29 Romania17182156
30 Puerto Rico17162154
31 Uruguay17141243
32 Spain16232564
33 Costa Rica16132352
34 France16121543
35 Bahrain16121139
36 Mexico16112148
37 Lithuania168428
38 Sudan167427
39 Thailand1512633
40 Japan15101843
41 Panama14171748
42 Macau14122248
43 Iran14121036
44 Uzbekistan1491639
45 Jamaica149831
46 Finland13211347
47 Austria13182152
48 Sweden1314431
49 Tunisia13101134
50 Ivory Coast1341330
51 Oman12191748
52 Slovakia1217635
53 Iraq12161846
54 Switzerland12151340
55 Morocco12132247
56 Malta12131540
57 Kazakhstan12111134
58 Kenya128525
59 Colombia11201041
60 Cayman Islands116825
61 Denmark10222052
62 Paraguay1010727
63 Czech Republic107421
64 Indonesia106420
65 Algeria9151337
66 Estonia914629
67 Philippines9101029
68 Nigeria910726
69 Venezuela93517
70 Iceland8141234
71 Lebanon811928
72 Brazil89219
73 Norway871025
74 Gibraltar87318
75 San Marino85720
76 Saint Kitts and Nevis82313
77 Ecuador7141132
78 Dominican Republic714930
79 Kuwait78722
80 Portugal771024
81 Jordan6131433
82 Monaco6121432
83 Azerbaijan610824
84 Peru68519
85 Suriname66315
86 Ukraine65314
87 Fiji64616
88 Argentina64414
89 Bahamas63514
 Zimbabwe63514
91 New Zealand5131432
92 Serbia510419
93 Palestine561324
94 Malaysia56314
95 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines55313
96 East Timor53210
97 Nicaragua52411
98 Guinea-Bissau5005
99 Guatemala481123
100 Bulgaria47819
101 Israel46919
102 Mauritius46717
103 Senegal46313
104 Singapore44816
105 Luxembourg44715
106 Qatar44513
107 Montenegro43310
108 Latvia4318
109 Uganda4239
110 Turkmenistan4228
111 Tanzania4127
112 Slovenia313824
113 Burkina Faso39820
114 Croatia37010
115 Isle of Man36615
116 Cuba35311
117 Chile33713
118 Aruba3317
119 Dominica3306
120 Bosnia and Herzegovina32510
121 Tajikistan3227
122 North Macedonia3137
123 Barbados3104
124 Liberia3014
125 Mongolia27918
126 Liechtenstein27615
127 Andorra27312
128 Botswana26210
129 Bonaire25310
130 El Salvador2439
131 Rwanda2428
132 Samoa2417
133 Cambodia2349
 Faroe Islands2349
135 Papua New Guinea2327
136 Benin2305
 Malawi2305
 Sri Lanka2305
139 Georgia2226
 Guinea2226
141 Niger2215
142 Belarus2204
 Cape Verde2204
 Tonga2204
145 Saint Lucia2136
146 Yemen2125
147 Congo2114
148 Laos2103
149 South Sudan2035
150 Armenia2013
151 Kiribati2002
 Kyrgyzstan2002
153 Honduras16613
154 Equatorial Guinea1416
155 Myanmar1326
156 Togo1315
157 Brunei1225
158 Afghanistan1214
 Antigua and Barbuda1214
160 Zambia1203
161 Bolivia1168
162 American Samoa1135
163 Bhutan1113
 Haiti1113
 Mali1113
 Moldova1113
 Nauru1113
 Nepal1113
169 Lesotho1102
 Maldives1102
 Seychelles1102
 Solomon Islands1102
 Vanuatu1102
174 Eswatini1023
 Kosovo1023
176 Burundi1012
 Namibia1012
178 DR Congo1001
 Ghana1001
180 Bermuda0358
181 Guyana0325
182 Micronesia0303
183 Comoros0202
184 Madagascar0123
185 Djibouti0112
 Mauritania0112
 Palau0112
 Vietnam0112
189 Marshall Islands0101
190 Chad0022
 Ethiopia0022
192 Gambia0011
 Mozambique0011
 Turkey0011
195 Albania0000
Totals (195 entries)1,9851,9051,7525,642

Participating nations

[edit]

Below is a list of all 195 participating delegations. The number of competitors per delegation is indicated in parentheses.

Delegations to the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games (according to the protocolar order)[8][9]

Marketing

[edit]

Logo and branding

[edit]

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 khoos (Arabic: خوص), with the Special Olympics symbol in a red circle in the middle.[11]

Sponsors

[edit]

Source:[12]

Presenting partner

[edit]

Official partners

[edit]

Official sponsors

[edit]

Official suppliers

[edit]

Official supporters

[edit]

Host, broadcast, media, government and venue partners and supporters

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Staff Report (16 November 2016). "Abu Dhabi to host 2019 Special Olympic World Games".
  2. ^ Couch, Teri (2019-03-18). "Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019: Monday, March 18". ESPN MediaZone U.S. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  3. ^ a b Jerusalem Post (9 March 2019). "United Arab Emirates to be First in Middle East to Host Special Olympics".
  4. ^ "2019 Special Olympics World Games Finalists Announced". Special Olympics (specialolympics.org). Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  5. ^ "World Games in MENA for the First Time". specialolympics.org.
  6. ^ "Venues". English. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  7. ^ "Home". abudhabi2019.org.
  8. ^ "Delegations". 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games. 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games Organizing Committee, ESPN,, Special Olympics. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Athlete Directory".
  10. ^ "Award/Achievement". Special Olympics Indonesia. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Abu Dhabi Launches Countdown to Special Olympics World Games 2019". broadwayworld.com. 27 March 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Sponsors".
[edit]
Preceded by Special Olympics World Summer Games Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2019_Special_Olympics_World_Summer_Games&oldid=1254456490"