Host Town Program For the more than 1,800 Special Olympics athletes at the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, the excitement included more than just the competition. Many experienced 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. Athletes and delegation members from Special Olympics Egypt are greeted and welcomed by citizens of Tuam, Co. Galway, Ireland, the host town for Egypt during the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. [Photo by Ray Ryan, IRELAND OUT] The Special Olympics Host Town Program provided an introduction to Japan for the athletes, helping transform differences into shared experiences. More than 70 host towns throughout the Nagano Prefecture and beyond welcomed delegations from 80 countries in late February 2005. Families opened 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 Japan. Host towns and delegations were matched for a number of reasons. Several host towns have had prior contact with the countries they will welcome. Minamimaki Village, for example, is a favorite destination for German Olympic track and field gold medalist Hartwig Gauder, who visits frequently. The village commemorated this friendship by welcoming the 100-member German team. Joetsu City in the Niigata Prefecture is located near the Sea of Japan and is a close neighbor of Russia. In fact, its citizens have frequent contact with each other, so it seemed like hosting the Russian delegation was the perfect way to deepen their ties. Special Olympics Belgium athlete Thierry Dozot signs autographs for some of the pupils of Navan Educate Together Primary School. Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland served as the host town for the delegation from Belgium at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. [Photo by Barry Cronin, IRELAND OUT] Interest in Middle Eastern culture also played a role. School children in the small village of Azumi were particularly interested in meeting people from the ancient Mesopotamia region, which they have studied and learned has had an influence on the Asian culture. So they introduced traditional Japanese food to the Special Olympics Iraq floor hockey team; they even spoke to the Iraqi embassy in Tokyo to get tips on typical Iraqi fare for both the athletes' enjoyment and to sample the unfamiliar foods for themselves. The village has not had frequent contact with people with intellectual disabilities and it feels that the Host Town Program was a good way to change people's attitudes and learn more about them. Having a ready language resource influenced Ota City's decision to host the Brazilian team. Located in the Gunma Prefecture, the city has a large contingent of Brazilian employees in its Subaru factory, giving it an envious head start in communicating easily with everyone. The common theme among the host towns is accepting and even celebrating differences. Mrs. Takizawa, who heads the Host Town Program in Matsumoto City, summed it up: "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." She added, "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."