"I am looking forward to our guests, to show and bring them closer to our city of sports and culture and our region. The Special Olympics NRW in Bonn in 2022 were already a successful sporting event. The Special Olympics reveal how sports can connect people. Now the event will become international with the visit of the Chinese delegation. I am proud that Bonn, together with many other cities, is setting an example for inclusion as a host city. Many thanks to all the offices, cooperation partners and volunteers involved in the program," said Bonn's Mayor Katja Dörner.
The city receives support from many partners in organizing four Host Town days, also due to the size of the delegation. Particularly Bonn citizens with disabilities will be involved in the Host Town program. Cooperation partners include the disabled community, Stadtsportbund Bonn and Special Olympics NRW. Language barriers will be overcome with Chinese-speaking volunteers. The delegation will be accommodated in the Basecamp Bonn, the associated Bonnox and the cooperation hotel "NYCE". The gym "Kraftwerk Fitness", located between Basecamp and Bonnox, will be involved as well. The delegation will have the opportunity to train there.
Program highlight: Torch relay on the banks of the Rhine on June 13.
The delegation will arrive in Bonn on the evening of June 12 and settle into their accommodations. On Tuesday, June 13, Head of Sports and Culture Dr. Birgit Schneider-Bönninger will welcome the delegation in the morning. There will also be a digital greeting from the project partner city Chengdu.
The program highlight is the Special Olympics fire on its way to Berlin, which will pass through the participating cities, including Bonn. For this, there will be a big event on the lawn in front of Bonn’s Opera house on June 13 from 1 to 4 pm. The Chinese delegation will carry the Olympic flame along the banks of the Rhine together with children and young people from schools, athletes, sponsors, cultural workers and all citizens of Bonn. Together, the enthusiasm and spirit of the Special Olympics will be spread. Mayor Melanie Grabowy will welcome the participants and give the starting signal at 2:30 pm. In the future, June 13 will become the Germany-wide Inclusion Day.
On Wednesday, June 14, the delegation will take a city tour and then travel to Königswinter on board the "Moby Dick" ship. The Drachenfelsbahn will take them to Drachenburg Castle, where they will take a guided tour and walk through the castle and park. In the evening, Mayor Katja Dörner will give a farewell reception at the Tanzhaus Bonn.
On the last day, Thursday, June 15, there will be a reception at the Old Town Hall with Mayor Dr. Ursula Sautter. Here the head of the delegation, Changkui Zhou, will sign the guest book of the City of Bonn. In the afternoon, the delegation will set off for Berlin.
Background of the Host Town Project
More than 200 Host Towns, over 200 municipal projects, have been selected to host delegations from around the world - from six to 300 members each - in the run-up to the Games.
The Special Olympics World Games is the largest inclusive sporting event in the world. The vision of the World Games is for people with and without disabilities, of different nations and cultures, to come together and overcome prejudice through the power of sports.
Sport is a driving force for social development. Participation in the program is not only a means to raise awareness for the concerns of people with intellectual disabilities and contribute to their participation in society in the sense of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but it can also show how to accept the diversity of other people, cultures and nations. The common goal: more participation and a new way of living together.
Further information on the Host Town program is available at www.bonn.de/hosttown (opens in a new tab).