Photography by Dillon Vibes
Stronger Together — The Power of Global Gaming
In conjunction with the one-year anniversary celebrations, it hosted a global webinar titled “Stronger Together – The Power of Global Gaming.” Emmanuel (Manu) Dutra Fernandez de SouzaSpecial Olympics Brazilian athlete and member of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics International.
The symposium included a presentation by Sven Albrecht, Managing Director of the company Special Olympics GermanyAnd the CEO of the company World Games, shows how the games helped transform Germany. In Berlin, research conducted after the event shows that levels of public awareness of Special Olympics have almost doubled, compared to before the Games.
In a live interview from Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate, the webinar’s audience of 350 people representing 90 countries also heard from Louis Klemmeyer, a German Special Olympics athlete leader who served as the inclusion director at the Berlin Games, and Natascha Vermelskirchen, who was the first German torch runner in Games, about how the Berlin Games had a positive impact on their lives and on German society.
There was also a panel discussion on some of the ongoing legacy projects at the Berlin Games that have been implemented to create more opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities around the world. The webinar heard from Tobias Antony from the German Olympic Sports Federation, and Susanne Masella from Special Olympics Africa About how a Unified Sports A training-of-trainers project is taking place in four African countries (Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya) came to life thanks to the Berlin Games.
Increasing scope and impact Global Leadership Alliance for Inclusiona groundbreaking legacy project launched at the Berlin Games that sees national governments and Special Olympics programs committing to improving education and inclusive sports opportunities in schools together.
Florette Blackwood, Senior Sports and Gender Strategist at Jamaica’s Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, said the Jamaican government is proud to be a committed leader in inclusion and has encouraged more countries to sign up to the global alliance.
Ivan Radović, National Director of Special Olympics MontenegroHe also explained how working in partnership with the Government of Montenegro is enabling 3,000 school children, with and without intellectual disabilities, to play Unified Sports together.
Finally, the symposium audience witnessed the inspiring story of Special Olympics athlete Bharat Vignesh Naik who experienced hearing for the first time at the Berlin Olympics when he was fitted with a hearing aid in the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Hearing Program. With the support of his coach, Sheetal Negi, and his mentor, Cyril Lopez, Fenesh revealed that his life has changed and his athletic performance has improved now that he can finally hear.
Brandon Swalic, CEO Star keya long-time partner of Special Olympics who served as the exclusive hearing health partner for the Berlin Games, concluded the panel discussion, explaining that supporting Special Olympics athletes and making hearing health services available to more athletes worldwide is a key priority for Starkey.
Media outreach report for the World Games in Berlin
Meanwhile, a new report, drawing on data from across the global movement, shows that the Berlin Games generated 72 billion media impressions across multiple media covering international and local media coverage.
The official media and outreach report for the Berlin Games was prepared by Special Olympics International with input from the Berlin Local Organizing Committee, Nielsen Sports, as well as each individual regional communications team. The report shows how games have reached new heights in awareness and media coverage.
Through our exclusive broadcast-host partnership with espnThe Games Opening Ceremony was broadcast live to millions of viewers in the United States through ESPN and Syndication Networks, reaching more than 190 countries around the world, representing the broadest reach ever for a Special Olympics World Games Opening Ceremony.
In another first of its kind at the Berlin Games, the 11 largest media companies specializing in sports reporting in Germany cooperated to jointly cover the event. The alliance was an important factor in raising awareness of Special Olympics as news reports from the Games reached 70% of Germany’s television audience.
Photography by Dillon Vibes
Special Olympics has also partnered with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to deliver Gamestime content to its members across Europe, and through global affiliates. In addition, a new initiative has seen the creation of a European Media Broadcasting Unit led by… Special Olympics Europe and Eurasia And troubled movies. Acting as a dedicated news source, this team has produced over 800 bespoke sports highlights packages consisting of 25 hours of edited material, featuring each of the 56 delegations from across the region.
Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 was the largest comprehensive sporting event in 2023, featuring 6,500 athletes from Special Olympics and Unified Partners from 176 delegations, 3,000 coaches and 18,000 volunteers.
Nearly 100,000 spectators, and over 330,000 World Games attendees, witnessed their participation in the events over the course of the Games. More than 50,000 people attended the opening ceremony, and a record 1,800 international media registered for the Games from 90 countries set a record, the largest number of media to attend and cover a Special Olympics World Games. During the 9-day event, athletes competed in 26 Olympic sports at 9 venues across Berlin.
