The Special Olympics World Games are special in many respects. The broad range of people with special abilities is only one of them. I had the chance to ask permission to take a photo of the athletes from the team from Hong Kong when the took their team photo at Berlin Alexanderplatz. This is indeed special as the all wore proudly their team dress showing in big letters Hong Kong on the back (participant example). Hong Kong is the unfortunate island that was passed on from Imperial phase from the United Kingdom time to the Chinese rule. Despite an official 1 China, 2 political systems promise, Hong Kong’s democratic movements were soon threated and imprisoned. It was a special moment to me to witness the spirit of the Hong Kong athletes at the beginning of the special games in Berlin.
Other athletes whom I congratulated on the way to the competition were proudly asking me, whether I had seen them on TV yesterday. Beyond the 2 weeks of competition, special athletes are part of our public images of sports persons. This enlarges our perspective of what a sport’s person presumably has to look like. The SOWG question our traditional stereotypes and put inclusion and integration into practice. At least some of the disciplines should go mainstream and be part of the next Olympic games in Paris 2024. But, as we all know the official, not so special, Olympic games are primarily about big business and merchandising rather than inclusion and diversity. Hong Kong athletes remain a unique experience reserved to the special Olympics. 
Research Teaching Consulting