Special Olympics World Games hosted in Berlin for the first time

Berlin, 13 June 2023 It is a very special sports experience and is coming to Berlin for the first time this year: The Special Olympics World Games 2023 will take place from the 17th to the 25th of June. Over the course of nine days, almost 7,000 athletes with cognitive and multiple disabilities will compete with each other in 26 sports events, following the motto #UnbeatableTogether. At the Olympiapark or at Messe Berlin, at Wannsee or in Grünau: The venues are spread all across the city. With the Berlin Welcome Card SPECIAL, visitBerlin invites participants, guests and Berliners to rediscover the capital during the World Games. The world's largest inclusive sports event not only has a lot to offer in sports, but is also, more than anything else, a colourful celebration for more recognition and involvement of people with cognitive disabilities.



Host for a global inclusion movement

Berlin is hosting the 16th Special Olympics World Games this year, which is a first for the city as well as for Germany. Since 1968, the global inclusion movement has been campaigning across the world for more rights and acceptance of people with cognitive and multiple disabilities and supporting them through health, education and qualification programmes. Held every two years at the Special Olympics World Games, the inclusion movement shows that sport connects people. Athletes compete together in 26 sports events, including badminton, athletics, sailing, horse riding, swimming and football. This year's World Games will be the largest German sporting event after the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich and will take place at numerous sports venues in the city.

Specials for the guests and participants of the 16th World Games - Hoteliers happy

Such a major sports event has attracted visitors from all over the world to the capital. Berlin is beckoning yet again with exceptional accommodation offers. Hoteliers are reporting an occupancy rate of 75 to 90 per cent for the period of the Special Olympics World Games 2023. So anyone who wants to experience the multi-sport event should book a hotel room really fast. By the way, visitBerlin is making a very special offer to people travelling to Berlin during the 16th World Games: With the Berlin Welcome Card SPECIAL, guests can discover the city and its countless attractions. Over 180 partners in Berlin and Potsdam are offering discounts of up to 50 percent. The CityGuide 2023 provides an overview of the discount partners and possible tours, e.g. city sightseeing tours, boat trips and bicycle tours. The tour can take you to the cultural centre around the Humboldt Forum, to the most beautiful promenades, to Torstraße or to Potsdamer Platz. Includes insider tips for Berlin. The Berlin Welcome Card, SPECIAL, costs 9 euros and is valid for 72 hours.



And there is also a special offer for the participants of the Special Olympics World Games: Accredited athletes and their persons accompanying them will pay reduced ticket prices, with discounts of up to 15 to 30 percent. For instance, the impressive exhibition “asisi Panorama Berlin: Die Mauer” (asisi Panorama Berlin: The Wall) is completely worth seeing. The enormous panorama installation imagines the Berlin Wall on a fictitious autumn day in the 1980s. Or Berlin on the fly: The four-hour long guided city tour “Original Berlin Walks” achieves this. Here you can visit the Brandenburg Gate, the Museum Island or Checkpoint Charlie.



Meetings and commute without any barriers in Berlin - including a travel guide in “Easy English”

For the Special Olympics World Games, Berlin is expecting delegations from 190 countries, and is hence making sure that their stay in the capital is as pleasant as possible. Be it easily accessible hotels, coach parking in near proximity or food: The Stadt und Land Reisen GmbH – a subsidiary of visitBerlin – helps groups, families and single travellers in complete itinerary planning free of cost. The guests and participants of the 16th World Games will thus be relaxed from the very first minute of their journey to Berlin, thanks to the travel offers from BAHNHIT.DE.



The “Inspirations of Berlin” travel guide by visitBerlin in “Easy English” also shows how tourism can be barrier-free. Because simply put, it makes Berlin accessible to everyone.



For meetings: visitBerlin will be on site at the Special Olympics World Games and will present Berlin as an inclusive metropolis at the Special Olympics Festival in the Summer Garden of Messe Berlin: daily 10 am to 6 pm from the 18th to the 25th of June.



What will also whet your appetite for the inclusive sports event in June is the 17th episode of the “Berlin Unboxed” podcast by visitBerlin. In the “Olympia Special”, the focus is on the Olympic Stadium. Managing Director, Timo Rohwedder, opens the gates of this historic sports venue and tells us how it is preparing for this special sporting event. And, of course, two athletes also get a chance to speak. There can be no better way to get into the mood for the Special Olympics World Games 2023.

More information

at visitBerlin.de/en/special-olympics-world-games-berlin-2023  and in our blog post with 11 tips on the Special Olympics.



Pictures of barrier-free Berlin