Special Olympics Begins One-Year Countdown to 50th Anniversary and Announces Chicago as Location for the Global Celebration Events

Special Olympics International, Special Olympics Illinois and Special Children's Charities have united to host nearly a week of exciting events to celebrate the past 50 years of Special Olympics and to launch the movement into the future.

"The 50^th Anniversary will be a pivotal moment for Special Olympics, as we aim to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities and as the leaders of inclusion through sport," shared Mary Davis. "We have spent the past 50 years breaking down barriers for our athletes and creating opportunities through sport, but we still have much more work to do. For our 50^th Anniversary, we are inviting all to join us as we shape a more accepting and inclusive future."

"The torch that was lit here at Soldier Field 49 years ago today ignited a fire that will never die as long as we continue to celebrate the bravery of inspirational individuals - like Kevin O'Brien, Michael Cusack and others - who competed in 1968 and became examples, inspiring future Special Olympics athletes, here and around the world, to find the courage to enter the competition," added Justice Burke.

Events planned for July 2018 in Chicago include the first-ever Special Olympics Unified Football (Soccer) Cup, a tournament of 24 men's and women's teams comprised of people with and without intellectual disabilities from countries around the globe.

Also planned is a star-studded concert, establishment of a Special Olympics Eternal Flame of Hope monument to symbolize the ongoing drive towards creating inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities, and a Change the Game Day event where the public is welcome to play unified and join in fun athletic competition with Special Olympics athletes at Soldier Field.

Also revealed today was a traveling 50^th Anniversary Museum which, throughout 2018, will traverse the State of Illinois, sharing the history of Special Olympics. The travelling museum will visit Special Olympics Illinois competitions along with high-profile state, county and municipal events, educating its public on the history of Special Olympics, its impact socially through sport, and invite people to come to Chicago in July 2018 to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary. The community is welcome to donate items and memories to the museum.

Anyone interested in learning more can visit www.SpecialOlympics50.org

Media Contacts:
Eric Benderoff, Burson-Marsteller, [email protected], 312-593-0763
Chris Winston, Special Olympics Illinois, [email protected], 312-315-6185

History of Special Olympics
In the midst of all of the tumultuous unrest of 1968, an event was held at Soldier Field, in Chicago, Illinois on July 20.  By its very nature, this was a revolutionary moment in time. The world witnessed for the first time a sports competition for people with intellectual disabilities from 26 states and Canada. It may come as a shock today to learn that many of the participants needed government pardons to leave the institutions in which they lived to travel to Chicago to compete. Eunice Kennedy Shriver led this community – who had been locked away and condemned to exist on the margins -- out of the shadows and into one of the largest stadiums in the U.S. It was their chance, their moment, to show the world what they could accomplish.

The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held at Soldier Field in Chicago, a joint venture between the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation and the Chicago Park District. The advisory committee to the Chicago Special Olympics included Dr. William Freeberg, Southern Illinois University; Dr. Frank J. Hayden, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation; Dr. Arthur Peavy; William McFetridge, Anne McGlone Burke and Stephen Kelly of the Chicago Park District; and Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson. Eunice Kennedy Shriver was honorary chairman. Dr. Hayden was also executive director of the Games.

About Special Olympics
Special Olympics is a global organization, with over 5 million athletes in 170 countries around the world, that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sport, every day around the world. Through programming in sports, health, education and community building, Special Olympics is changing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, solving the global injustice, isolation, intolerance and inactivity they face. Special Olympics Illinois provides opportunities for more than 22,500 of these athletes, more than 20,000 Young Athletes (ages 2 – 7 years old), 45,000 volunteers and thousands more people statewide through 18 Area programs in all 102 counties of the state. Special Children's Charities is the fundraising arm of Special Olympics in Chicago. In cooperation with the Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools and Special Olympics Illinois, Special Children's Charities is committed to providing year-round sports training, recreational and social programs for the children and adults of Special Olympics in Chicago.

SOURCE Special Olympics

Related Links

http://www.SpecialOlympics50.org