Special Olympics 2025: A festival of inclusion and movement in Berlin!

Special Olympics 2025: A festival of inclusion and movement in Berlin!

The Special Olympics Berlin/Brandenburg 2025 were a real highlight for fans of the inclusive sport. However, the competitions were not only a dazzling sports festival, but also an important opportunity for the successful Special Olympics World Games 2023. The event attracted around 1,600 athletes, including prominent faces and fresh talents, which rocked the opening ceremony in Hohenschönhausen, Paul-Heyse-Straße and the Potsdam sports park. It was not just about medals, but above all about the cooperation and the joy of sport. Sports Secretary Franziska Becker emphasized that the perception of people with impairments in society has improved significantly and that it is time to celebrate and expand this progress.

This event was a springboard for many of the participants to qualify for the Special Olympics World Games 2027 in Santiago de Chile. The mood was characterized by enthusiasm and enthusiasm, and even former Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not miss the opportunity to enjoy the atmosphere and praise the committed athletes.

health programs: a step to fulfillment

A special focus of the Special Olympics was also on the health of the athletes. As part of the health promotion and prevention program "Healthy Athletes", participating health consultations and control examinations were able to take advantage of. This initiative is so comprehensive for the first time worldwide and aims to strengthen health awareness among athletes with impairments. This group often has a higher risk of health restrictions, which makes the relevance of these offers all the greater. Often you fight with problems such as overweight, lack of fitness, visual and hearing impairments as well as dental and oral health. The program helps the participants to better assess their state of health and strive for targeted improvements.

In addition, Healthy Athletes offers a pleasant and low -threshold atmosphere in which even declarations of consent are available in easy language. The program consists of seven different health areas, and all information is also widespread in different formats, including a ten -minute image film on YouTube. It is already clear that inclusion in sport is not only a question of physical activity, but also includes the health sector.

Inclusion: A long way to equality

Inclusion in sport is not an easy topic, as numerous experience reports and studies show. Despite the impressive progress, we need a change in mentality to reduce barriers. Similar to the initiative “Football Freunde”, which was launched by Special Olympics Germany and the DFB Foundation Sepp Herberger, to enable children and adolescents with and without impairments to participate in football, integrative approaches in mass sports are indispensable.

The participation of people with disabilities in sport not only increases their self -esteem, but also enables social interaction, which is particularly important for children and adolescents. Whether in Rhineland-Palatinate, where school children play football, or at the Special Olympics events-the essence is the same: sporting activities promote holistic well-being.

Nevertheless, a consideration shows that a lot has to be done in Germany. Only about 13 % of the students with special educational needs can be found in regular schools. Inclusion cannot be reached with a single step, but requires constant efforts, both in society and in the sports landscape. The UN Convention on the Rights of Disabilities in 2006 promises equal participation of people with disabilities in sport-it remains to be hoped that this vision will soon become a reality.

The image of the Special Olympics Berlin/Brandenburg 2025 could be a catalyst for changes that have been necessary for a long time. Another sign that sport brings people together and reduces inhibition thresholds. As Franziska Becker aptly noticed: "We still have a lot to do to live and shape inclusion in sport."

We can be excited about the upcoming national games in 2026 in Saarland, where all forces are mobilized again to further advance the intelligence idea and to bring closer to a wider audience.