Andorra La Vella and La Seu d’Urgell to organize 2018 Special Olympic Games

La Seu d’Urgell (ACN).- The joint bid between Andorra la Vella, the capital of the Principality of Andorra and the closest Catalan town, La Seu d’Urgell, to organize the 2018 Special Olympics Games has been successful. The Mayor of Andorra la Vella, Marc Pons, and the mayor of La Seu d’Urgell, Albert Batalla, made this public last week. The two mayors said the games would be a challenge and there will promote the two cities as sports centers and towns of solidarity. The event will be held from the 4th to 7th of October and will bring more than 2,400 people from more than seventeen international delegations. This will be the first time that the Special Olympic Games, the most important international sports event for athletes with mental disability, will be held in the Pyrenees.

Marina Gómez, the president of the Catalan Sports Federations, said that this candidacy has won for its “unity and organization”. The initiative wants to strengthen the sports aspect but also the social and solidary aspects. They pretend to increase the normalization and social inclusion of people with mental disability. The organizers have asked for the implication of all citizens of this region in the Pyrenees and have also asked for volunteers.

The event will run from the 4th to the 7^th of October and it will have twelve sports disciplines. The games will move more than 2,400 people between athletes, partners, technicians, trainers and organizers. There will be seventeen delegations with athletes from the five continents. The opening ceremony will be in La Seu and the closing ceremony will be in Andorra la Vella. The budget for this project is 800,000 euros.