“The Eye”

It’s the eye of hope: hoping love from their family, encouragement and care from people, equality, acceptance and inclusion from society.

It’s the eye of care: the care that we pledge to all people with intellectual disabilities our everlasting support.

It’s the eye of attention: the attention that the world pays to Special Olympics, to 2007 World Games in Shanghai and to its far-reaching impact on Chinese society.

Games’s Theme:

It rings the wishes of Special Olympics athletes; it echoes“Equity, Participation, Inclusion and Joy”; it resonates Shanghai’s commitment to make this the biggest and most successful games ever in Special Olympics’history.

The 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held in Shanghai, People's Republic of China 2-11 October 2007.

The event will mark the first time the World Summer Games will be held in Asia, and only the second time they will be held outside the United States. In addition to some 7,000 athletes, Special Olympics expects the 2007 World Summer Games to draw 40,000 volunteers, 3,500 event officials and thousands of families, volunteers, spectators and journalists from every continent.

Special Olympics athletes of all ability levels will compete in 21 different Special Olympics and Olympic-type sports: Aquatics, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Bocce, Bowling, Cricket, Cycling, Dragon Boat Racing, Equestrian, Football (Soccer), Golf, Gymnastics, Handball, Judo, Kayaking, MATP, Power lifting, Roller Skating, Sailing, Softball, Table Tennis, Tennis, and Volleyball. Special Olympics athletes not competing in the World Games will play crucial leadership roles off the sports field as officials, assistant coaches, reporters, and spokespeople.

2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games Features

• Global Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg —The Final Leg will begin with the ignition of the“Flame of Hope”and the lighting of the torch in Athens, Greece. The torch will travel around the globe to more than 10 cities to celebrate the 2007 World Games and showcase Chinese culture. Law enforcement officers from around the world will serve as Guardians of the Flame as they journey to Shanghai, China, to safely deliver the“Flame of Hope”to the 2007 World Games Opening Ceremonies.
• Host Town Program —Delegations from around the world will be hosted throughout China prior to their arrival in Shanghai for the Games. For four days before Opening Ceremonies, the Host Town experience gives Special Olympics athletes a chance to learn more about Chinese culture and acclimate to a new environment, and also helps citizens of China learn more about people with intellectual disabilities.
• Healthy Athletes? Screenings —Volunteer medical professionals will provide competing athletes a variety of free health assessments, including vision, dental, audio logy and physical therapy. Past Healthy Athletes screenings have changed the lives of many athletes, discovering serious untreated health issues.
• Research Symposium —Review of groundbreaking studies by the China National Institute for Educational Research and the University of Massachusetts Boston. Studies will reveal key findings in the area of intellectual disabilities, as well as highlights on subjects ranging from health and fitness to attitude change to the impact of the Special Olympics movement.
• Opening Ceremonies —An exciting and entertaining show to open the World Games will be produced by award-winning producer/director Don Mischer and take place in the 80,000-seat Shanghai Stadium and will include star-studded entertainment, the Parade of Athletes and the culmination of the Final Leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run and lighting of the Special Olympics cauldron.
• Global Youth Summit —An assembly bringing youth with and without intellectual disabilities together for inspiring and educational discussions. The inaugural summit took place in 2001 at the World Winter Games in Anchorage, Alaska (USA), and was aired on Nickelodeon television (Nick News). The second Global Youth Summit, held in Dublin, Ireland, as part of the 2003 World Summer Games, attracted Nelson Mandela and stars Colin Farrell and Maria Shriver. The show aired on MTV in the United Kingdom. The 2005 Global Youth Summit at the World Games in Nagano, Japan, included more than 300 Japanese youth and attracted former U.S. President Bill Clinton; the show aired on Japanese national television.
• Family Forum —An activity tailored for family members of Special Olympics athletes to enable them to learn more about the opportunities available with Special Olympics, and to provide a network of friends and supporters.
• Closing Ceremonies —An event to celebrate the accomplishments of the athletes and officially close the Games.

China, which also will host the 2008 Olympic Games, will become the first country in history to host the Special Olympics World Games, Olympic Games and Paralympics Games—all within the span of just 12 months. The eyes of the world will be on China as it celebrates the true power of sport and the belief that sport can foster the development of a better and more peaceful world.

"China is our movement's future," said Timothy Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics. "This pioneering effort to bring the Special Olympics message to the largest nation on earth opens the chance for change, for with sports achievement comes achievement in family, in school, on the job and in life." < Read about the 24 May, 2002 announcement that the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games were awarded, by unanimous vote of the Special Olympics Board of Directors, to The People's Republic of China >