America
Michelle Obama to declare Special Olympics open
Los Angeles, July 25
Honorary co-chair of
Special Olympics World Games (SOWG) and US First Lady Michelle Obama has
confirmed her attendance at Saturday's opening ceremony.
"She is
declaring the Games open tomorrow night," Xinhua quoted LA 2015
president and chief executive Patrick McClenahan as saying on Friday.
"It's
the largest event Los Angeles has hosted since the 1984 Olympics.
(Hosting the event) is just a remarkable opportunity for us," McClenahan
said.
There will be 290 events -- 267 for Special Olympics
athletes and 23 Unified Sports competitions pairing athletes with and
without intellectual disabilities.
"Reach Up LA" is the theme
song of LA 2015 Special Olympics. The creator of the song, Siedah
Garrett, said during the conference that "I would love it if people feel
the energy and emotion that went into performing and creating the
song."
The opening ceremony will take place on Saturday to honour
over 6,500 athletes from 165 countries and regions in the historic Los
Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the only venue in the world to host two
Olympiads (1932 and 1984). The ceremony will also witness the Parade of
Athletes and the culmination of the Final Leg of the Law Enforcement
Torch Run and lighting of the Special Olympics cauldron.
The show
will be directed by Emmy Award winner Debbie Allen and produced by Five
Currents, which produced the opening ceremony for the 2014 Sochi Games.
Notable guests include Michelle Obama, Stevie Wonder, Michael Phelps,
Jimmy Kimmel and Yao Ming. The organisers are expecting about 62,000
people at the stadium.