The Walt Disney Company
Celebrates First Special
Olympics World Summer Games
Held in Asia
Around the World,
Disney and ABC Honor the
Athletes ESPN Supports
Games Across Platforms,
including ESPN360.com and
ESPN.com
�����Shanghai, China.
— October 2 - 11, 2007
— The Walt Disney Company
celebrates the 2007 Special
Olympics World Summer Games,
being held in Shanghai,
People’s Republic of
China, with live broadcasts and
activities around the world.
The games, opening on Tuesday,
October 2, will be the first to
be held in Asia and will run
though October 11th, giving
Special Olympics athletes of
all ability levels the
opportunity to compete in 25
different�Olympic-type and
demonstration�sports.
�����
ABC Family, Part of the
Disney-ABCTelevision Group,
will air the Opening Ceremony
of the Games on Thursday,
October 4 (5:00PM–7:00PM
ET/PT), giving millions of
viewers in the United States
the opportunity to experience
this wonderful event. The
ceremony will become the
biggest event ever broadcast
from China and bring together
over 7,500 athletes from 164
nations and officials from 175
countries. By special
invitation, Anne Sweeney,
co-chair of Disney Media
Networks and president,
Disney-ABC Television Group and
Special Olympics International
board member, will also be in
attendance, joining the United
States Presidential
Delegation.
The celebration will
reflect the many talents of the
artistic and performing
communities in China and
transmit the inspiring ideals
of the Special Olympics
movement to the hearts of its
viewers. Harmony: The Common
Dream of Humanity is the
central theme of the Opening,
which will be reflected and
reinforced throughout the
event, portraying the four
pillars of Special Olympics:
courage, sharing, skill and
joy.
The celebration will
reflect the many talents of the
artistic and performing
communities in China and
transmit the inspiring ideals
of the Special Olympics
movement to the hearts of its
viewers. Harmony: The Common
Dream of Humanity is the
central theme of the Opening,
which will be reflected and
reinforced throughout the
event, portraying the four
pillars of Special Olympics:
courage, sharing, skill and
joy.
In addition to broadcasts
of events throughout the course
of the Games, The Walt Disney
Company is working with local
communities in an effort to
honor children in a variety of
different ways. On September
29th, Disney China and the
American Chamber of Commerce
(=Ommerve AmCham) Shanghai
hosted a celebration of
children at the Shanghai
Children’s Palace. The
Palace, which provides a safe
after school and weekend place
for children to play and learn,
opened its doors to 100
children and other special
guests. In the spirit of
China’s “I am Ten
Years Old” holiday which
recognizes the milestone of
turning ten, a Disney themed
birthday party was held.
Selected by Shanghai Children's
Palace, for their academic
accomplishments, talents and
overall compassion for the
world, 40 ten-year old children
in total, from Yuyuan,
XIanhyang, Jiangning and Wuning
primary schools were in
attendance to celebrate their
special birthdays. They were
joined by 10 Special Olympic
Athletes from the U.S.
delegation and 40 children from
the Baoshan Peizhi School, half
whom performed traditional
dances for the other guests.
Magic shows, dancing and even
storytelling by Zhao Zengzeng,
Special Olympics Ambassador,
Shanghai, were enjoyed by all
including Kenneth Jarrett, U.S.
Consulate General to Shanghai,
Brenda Foster, President,
AmCham Shanghai and The Walt
Disney Company China executives
Stanley Cheung and Jun Tang.
Shanghai Disney VoluntEARS were
also present and joined the
children in a variety of
activities.
�����During the Games, in
collaboration with the Shanghai
Youth League, Disney VoluntEARS
will also be on hand at the
Athletes’ Village to
welcome delegates from around
the world and help celebrate
their accomplishments. There,
the athletes will spend time
with some of their favorite
Disney characters, including
Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse
at a special meet and
greet.
�����To the West, in Africa,
Disney VoluntEARS hosted a
special viewing of
Disney·Pixar’s
film Ratatouille in an effort
to raise funds for Special
Olympics athletes who will
participate in the Games,
representing Kenya.
�����"We are delighted
to�actively support�the Special
Olympics World Games 2007
through the participation of
our Disney VoluntEARS,”
expressed Stanley Cheung,
Executive Vice President and
Managing Director, The Walt
Disney Company, Greater China.
“This is a great
opportunity to reach out to the
local community and�as a
company we are proud to be able
to�make a difference."
�����To further expand the
involvement of The Walt Disney
Company, ESPN.com will create a
dedicated Special Olympics
World Games Page, where fans
can obtain general information
and top stories from the Games,
a schedule of events, athlete
profiles, have the opportunity
to participate in polls, view
videos of the events and even
get travel tips on China.
ESPN360.com will stream the
opening ceremonies on Tuesday,
October 2 at 7:00 a.m. USET for
two hours, with available
replays for the following two
days while ESPN STAR Sports
will deliver Asia-wide coverage
of the Games Opening Ceremony,
‘live’ on STAR
Sports China from 1900HKT to
2230HKT and on all other beams
of STAR Sports from 2100HKT to
2230HKT. Daily highlights of
personal triumphs will be shown
every weekday on ESPN
SportsCenter Asia news
bulletins at 22:00HKT on ESPN
with a one-hour, post-Games
highlights special to air on
October 18, on STAR Sports.
�����Viewers can also follow
the events firsthand as ABC
brings you an inside look with
a series of video diaries that
will air on Good Morning
America Now each day, for the
duration of the Games. Video
diaries will also air on Good
Morning America and Good
Morning America Weekend during
the Games and will be available
on Good Morning America’s
website.
�����To help close this
wonderful 11-day demonstration
of courage, Mickey and Minnie,
along with Donald Duck, Goofy
and Pluto will join the
athletes and child
representatives from the region
during the Closing Ceremonies
with dances and guest
appearances. Continuing the
festivities, Hong Kong
Disneyland is lending its
support to Special Olympics
Hong Kong athletes with a
welcome home celebration. The
Hong Kong Special Olympics team
will be received with a party
held in mid October where they
will be joined by their
committee members and HKDL
senior executives.
�����Special Olympics is an
international non-profit
organization that provides
year-round sports training and
athletic competition in a
variety of Olympic-type sports
for children and adults with
intellectual disabilities,
giving them continuing
opportunities to develop
physical fitness, demonstrate
courage, experience joy and
participate in a sharing of
gifts, skills, and friendship
with their families, other
Special Olympics athletes and
the community. Visit
www.2007specialolympics.com,
available in six languages, for
information about the
Games.
About Disney’s
Outreach
�����Disney brightens the lives
of children in need around the
world through global outreach
programs, local community
initiatives and the Disney
VoluntEARS program. Last year,
Disney donated more than $170
million in cash and in-kind
support to various charities
around the world. Disney
VoluntEARS contributed more
than 485,000 hours of service
and the company drew upon its
unique magic to make wishes
come true for children and
families. The Disney VoluntEARS
program provides opportunities
for Disney employees to
contribute their time and
expertise towards making a
positive impact in the
communities they serve while
furthering the traditions and
ideals of The Walt Disney
Company. For more information
on Disney’s outreach
efforts, please visit
www.DisneyOutreach.com
Contacts
Andrea Rausa
The Walt Disney Company
(818) 567-5941
Tiffany Huang
The Walt Disney Company,
China
8621.6132.0296
Alison Lazar
ESPN
(212) 456-0226
|