2019
- When 14 Mar 2019 - 21 Mar 2019
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State - may God protect him - inaugurated the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games, hosted by Abu Dhabi, in the presence of sovereigns and leaders of a number of friendly neighbouring countries.
* Abu Dhabi hosted the Special Olympics World Summer Games from 14 to 21 March, 2019.
* More than 7,000 athletes competed in 24 sports.
* The Special Olympics World Summer Game in Abu Dhabi witnessed the largest participation since the inaugural 1968 Special Olympics World Summer Games. Over 7,500 athletes and 3,000 male and female coaches participated, representing 200 countries.
* The Abu Dhabi 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games earned AED 957 million in revenue from economic output, and AED 500 million in total value added over the tournament period, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report.
* The Games attracted more than half a million spectators, in addition to 18,000 foreign visitors whose average length of stay in the country was 10 hotel nights.
* 23,296 free medical examinations were conducted on all athletes, according to the Healthy Athletes Programme, which included examinations of teeth, eyes, ears, and general health.
* The Abu Dhabi 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games utilised the first digital management system in the history of the Special Olympics.
* The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games were accompanied by the Host Town programme, the largest cultural exchange programme which promotes education on Emirati culture and community integration.
Medal Rankings for the Top Ten
Position. Country - Gold, Silver, Bronze, (Total)
1. South Korea - 125, 60, 61, (246)
2. USA - 113, 80, 63, (256)
3. Russia - 41, 35, 31 (107)
4. Italy - 34, 37, 35, (106)
5. Colombia - 31, 15, 10 (56)
6. Ireland - 29, 29, 27, (85)
7. France - 29, 18, 42, (89)
8. China - 25, 28, 31 (84)
9. Denmark - 24, 22, 10 (56)
10. India - 17, 36, 29 (82)