Laureus expands support of Special Olympics movement
In a new step for a relationship stretching back more than 20 years, Laureus and Special Olympics are proud to announce that Laureus will be a supporter of the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023.
The event, which will feature over 7,000 athletes from all over the world, will be a celebration of visibility, inclusion and accessibility, taking place this June in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. The motto for the Games is #UnbeatableTogether, or #ZusammenUnschlagbar.
At the inaugural Laureus World Sport Awards in 2000, the founder of Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, received the first Sport for Good Award. Since then, Laureus has been an unwavering ally to the global movement she established, providing funding for programmes from China to West Africa, from Japan to Argentina.
The sporting legends who make up the Laureus Academy have visited Special Olympics programmes and events all over the world, gaining first-hand experience of the ways in which sport can change the lives of young people with intellectual disabilities.
One of those Academy Members, Edwin Moses, was on stage to present Eunice Kennedy Shriver with the Award in 2000 and today welcomed the new partnership between Laureus and Special Olympics.
Edwin said: “In 2000, Eunice Kennedy Shriver asked us to make room in our communities, on our playing fields and in our hearts for the people she championed. Laureus has striven to do that in the years since, and today we take a step closer to meeting the standard she set.
“This partnership is not only about supporting the people who will participate in this wonderful event in June. It’s part of our unflinching commitment to end discrimination in sport and society, including for the 1.2 billion people around the world who have a disability. We see you; we stand with you and in Berlin this summer, we’ll be cheering for you.”
“Laureus and Special Olympics share the same guiding principle: sports have the power to build unity, inclusion, and peace,” said Tim Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics. “For more than 20 years, Laureus and Special Olympics have been side-by-side in communities around the world. As partners, we are a catalyst for inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities, an accelerator for young people who deserve equitable futures, and an embodiment of the Berlin World Games motto: unbeatable together.”
Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 will be the world’s largest sports and humanitarian event and the biggest multi-sport event in Berlin in decades. From June 17-25, more than 7,000 competitors from over 190 nations will compete in 26 Olympic-type summer sports.
The 2023 World Games in Berlin will be broadcast to hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, showcasing athletic performance, challenging stereotypes, and demonstrating transformational inclusion.
Special Olympics is one of more than 275 sport for development organisations Laureus supports around the world. Laureus Sport for Good works with community sports organisations that use sport to combat violence, discrimination and disadvantage faced by young people. Together with our partners, Laureus Sport for Good has reached and helped change the lives of more than six and a half million children and young people since 2000.
