Ready for the Games

ABU DHABI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed met members of the Emirati Special Olympics team yesterday during a ceremony to announce sponsors for the 2019 competition that will be hosted in the capital.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces spent time with the 32 UAE athletes who will compete in the event.

The games are expected to attract more than 7,000 athletes from 170 nations competing in 22 sports. About 500,000 people are expected to watch the competition. Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, took possession of the Special Olympics flag in Austria in March. The handover happened at the closing ceremony of the Special Olympics Winter World Games in Graz.

Austrian chancellor Christian Kern was one of the dignitaries at the reception yesterday held at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

Adnoc and Etihad Airways are sponsoring the biennial games in Abu Dhabi, which will be the first time it has been held in the Middle East.

“It is a great honour for Adnoc to be a sponsor and supporter of the Special Olympics, which gives those with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to demonstrate their athleticism, courage and commitment to excellence in sport, on a global stage,” said Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and group chief executive of Adnoc.

Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court – Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Christian Kern, the federal chancellor of Austria, applaud a group of Emirati Special Olympics athletes during an event for the Special Olympics...

Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court – Abu Dhabi Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, and Dr Ali bin Tamim, general manager of Abu Dhabi Media, attend a ceremonial handover of the Special Olympics World Games to Abu Dhabi.