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Hosting a Special Olympics International Event

Fireworks going off at a stadium as a large crowd watches.

Special Olympics competitions take place every day, all around the world. On the international scale, Special Olympics currently hosts the World Games, the World Winter Games, the Unified Cup, and the Unified Beach Games. Our athletes also look forward to the addition of the DanceSport World Championship, the Unified Tennis Global Tournament and the Unified Basketball 3x3 Tournament.

Special Olympics uses an ongoing bid process to consult with any interested party that would like to learn more about hosting a Special Olympics international event. A timeline of upcoming events is included below.

Special Olympics International Competitions info graphic.

We would love to hear about your interest in hosting an event. Please reach out to Lou Lauria, Chief of Sport and Competition, to set up an introduction.

“Just bidding for the World Winter Games opened new doors for us as we were able to have conversations on the level of our national government that were not there before.”
Bruno Barth, National Director, Special Olympics Switzerland
“Special Olympics [events] are a great platform of friendship. Everyone is a messenger of the Special Olympics spirit, so let’s share the warmth of the Special Olympics family and write together a new page of human civilization.”
H.E. Han Zheng, Former Mayor, Shanghai, China