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[Santiago, Chile - 27 October 2026] From 16 – 24 October 2027, Santiago, Chile, will host the Special Olympics World Games, the first to be held in the Southern Hemisphere and in Latin America.

She had a keynote speech to give. She was in an unfamiliar city for just a few hours. Bright spotlights shined upon her. In a grand meeting room, 350 leaders from across Europe faced her.

Two hundred and fifty athletes from 35 countries dived into five days of racing at the Special Olympics European Swimming Open Malta 2026. Hosted by Special Olympics Malta at the National Pool Complex from 10 to 14 September, the competition featured 25m, 50m, and 100m individual events, along with 4×25m freestyle relays for male, female, and mixed teams.

Special Olympics Judo Open Sarajevo 2026 brought together 130 judokas with intellectual disabilities, marking an important milestone for inclusive sport and demonstrating the growing global impact of Special Olympics judo.

Last September, eight pairs of Special Olympics judokas took to the tatami for a kata competition held at Sarajevo’s Hotel Hills Arena alongside the International Judo Federation (IJF) World Kata Championship 2026.

The inaugural conference called for action on health equity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In the lead up to the Cup, Special Olympics Thailand and its partners utilized Sport for Development practices, as part of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, using sport as a catalyst for social inclusion, education, health, and community development.

Andrei Ungureanu, UPS Nordic Focus on Abilities BRG Chair, reflects on the joyful Special Olympics Sweden Invitational Games 2026 and the fun-filled UPS activation.

The European Week of Sport—now in its twelfth year—launched in Dublin, Ireland this week. Special Olympics joined the Irish and European sports communities to celebrate the journey so far for EWOS and reflect on how we can work together to support everyone to #BeActive into the future.

Athletes with intellectual disabilities will compete within an IJF world-level framework as part of Sarajevo’s World Judo Championships Veterans and Kata programme.