The Special Olympics World Games also known as Special Olympiad are an international sporting event for participants with intellectual disabilities, organized by the IOC-recognised Special Olympics organization.

Although local Special Olympics events and competitions are held around the world every day, the World Games are flagship events. The goal is to showcase the skills and accomplishments of people with intellectual disabilities on a global stage.^[1] The World Games feature more than a week of competitions involving thousands of athletes. Through media coverage of the Games, the stories and achievements of children and adults with intellectual disabilities are made known to millions of people worldwide.^[1]

Special Olympics World Games take place every two years and alternate between Summer and Winter Games, a schedule similar to the Olympics and Paralympics. Attracting as many as 350,000 volunteers and coaches, plus several thousands of athletes, these World Games can be the world's largest sporting event of the year.^[1][2]

Special Olympics athletes can compete in 32 Olympic-style summer or winter sports. The athletes are adults and children with intellectual disabilities who can range from gifted, world-class competitors to average athletes to those with limited physical ability. It's a fundamental rule of Special Olympics competitions that athletes are matched up according to their ability and age. This “divisioning” process is an effort to make every competition fair, competitive and exciting for athletes as well as fans.^[3]

The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, US, in 1968, while the first International Special Olympics Winter Games were held in February 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, US. In 1991, the name was officially changed from International Special Olympics Summer/Winter Games to Special Olympics World Summer/Winter Games.^[4]

The 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games received more than half of its funding from private corporations. Olympic historian Bob Barney stated "companies that donate millions might want say in how an event is run", but also felt it positive since "it brings the games to a much larger viewing audience".^[5]

In 2011, Special Olympics World Summer Games were held on June 25 – July 4 in Athens, Greece, involving 6,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 170 countries.^[2]

In 2013, the Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in PyeongChang, South Korea from Jan. 29 – Feb. 5. The Host Town program, in which families host Special Olympics athletes from around the world to help them acclimate to the host country and customs, began on Jan. 26, 2013.^[6]

In 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games .^[7] These games were the first Special Olympics World Summer Games held in the United States in 16 years since the 1999 Summer Games held in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Graz and Schladming in Styria, Austria. This marked a return: Salzburg and Schladming, Austria hosted the fifth Special Olympics World Winter Games in 1993. These were the first Special Olympics World Games held outside the United States. The 2017 World Winter Games were held on March 14–25, 2017.^[8]

Kazan, Russia was due to host the Winter Special Olympics between January 23–29, 2023.^[9] Originally to be held in Åre and Östersund, Sweden however the Swedish Government withdrew its hosting rights in December 2019 due to financial problems. The event had been postponed to January 2023 due a rise of COVID-19 cases. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the event was cancelled due to logistical and safety issues.^[10]

The more recent Special Olympics World Summer Games were held June 17–25, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. These were the first Special Olympics World Games to be held in Germany.^[11] Competitions were held in 24 sports.

Turin, Italy will host the next World Winter Games in March 2025. It will mark the first time that Italy has hosted the Special Olympics World Games.

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Special Olympics World Summer Games Special Olympics World Summer Games Edition Year Host City Host Country Sports National Programs 1968 1 Chicago  United States 2 2 1970 2 Chicago  United States 2 3 1972 3 Los Angeles  United States 1975 4 Mount Pleasant  United States 1979 5 Brockport  United States 1983 6 Baton Rouge  United States 3 1987 7 Indiana  United States 1991 8 Minnesota  United States 1995 9 New Haven  United States 21 143 1999 10 North Carolina  United States 19 150 2003 11 Dublin Ireland 23 166 2007 12 Shanghai  China 25 165 2011 13 Athens  Greece 22 185 2015 14 Los Angeles  United States 25 177 2019 15 Abu Dhabi  United Arab Emirates 22 190 2023 16 Berlin  Germany 24 190 2027 17 TBA TBA

Special Olympics World Winter Games Special Olympics World Winter Games Edition Year Host City Host Country Sports National Programs 1977 1 Steamboat Springs  United States 1981 2 Vermont  United States 1985 3 Park City  United States 1989 4 Reno,Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley  United States 1993 5 Salzburg and Schladming  Austria 1997 6 Toronto  Canada 2001 7 Anchorage  United States 2005 8 Nagano  Japan 2009 9 Boise  United States 2013 10 PyeongChang  South Korea 2017 11 Graz and Schladming  Austria 2025 12 Turin-Piedmont  Italy 2029 13 Chur-Graubünden  Switzerland

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¹ Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was originally selected to host the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games.^[12] Due to financial problems and the constant delay in reconstruction of the venues that originally hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics, Sarajevo gave up hosting the Special Olympics and Boise, Idaho, was invited to host instead.^[13]

² It was planned that Åre and Östersund, Sweden, would host the 2021 World Winter Games between February 2 to 13, 2021.^[14] However, on December 20, 2019, it was announced that the Swedish Paralympic Committee vetoed the necessary financing for the continuity of the event in the country, invalidating a promise made during the bid process.^[15] On June 29, 2020, it was announced that Kazan would host the Winter Games in 2022.^[16]

• Ancient Olympic Games
• Paralympics
• Deaflympics
• Flame of Hope (Special Olympics)
• Camp Shriver
• Special Olympics USA National Games