For the more than 10,000 Special Olympics delegation members including athletes, coaches and delegates at the 2007 Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, the excitement will include more than just the competition. Many will experience exotic and unfamiliar parts of the world for the first time, where differences in geography and climate, cuisine, time changes, culture and language can be intriguing, or overwhelming.

The Special Olympics Host Town Program's aim is to provide an introduction to China for the athletes, helping transform differences into shared experiences. More than 11 host towns throughout China will welcome delegations from over 170 countries in early October 2007. Families open their hearts and homes for four glorious days prior to the Games, allowing delegations to rest, acclimate and celebrate their arrival with the people of China.

Among the chosen host towns, some towns probably have not had frequent contact with people with intellectual disabilities and it is believed that the Host Town Program is a good way to change people's attitudes and learn more about them. The common theme among the host towns will be accepting and celebrating differences. Explanations and reading books about intellectual disabilities is inadequate to the rich experience of meeting and interacting with people with intellectual disabilities. That is where real understanding and joy occur and remove barriers between people. The Host Town program will facilitate normalization between people with and without intellectual disabilities so that people with intellectual disabilities can live more comfortably in society.