At those first games, honorary event chair Eunice Kennedy Shriver announced the formation of the Special Olympics organization.

During the World Winter Games of 2013 in Pyeongchang, South Korea,[5] the first Special Olympics Global Development Summit was held on "Ending the Cycle of Poverty and Exclusion for People with Intellectual Disabilities", gathering government officials, activists and business leaders from around the world.

[8] The camp sought to address the concern that disabled children had very little opportunity to participate in organised athletic events.

[11] This frank article about the President's family was seen as a "watershed" in changing public attitudes toward people with intellectual disabilities.

[14] In 1958, Dr. James N. Oliver of England had conducted pioneering research, including a ground-breaking study showing that physical exercise and activities for children with intellectual disabilities had positive effects that also carried over into the classroom ("The Effects of Physical Conditioning Exercises and Activities on the Mental Characteristics of Educationally Sub-Normal Boys, British Journal of Educational Psychology, XXVIII, June 1958).

[18] With the help of a local school that offered space in its gym, Hayden started one of the first public organised sports programs, floor hockey for individuals with intellectual disabilities, in the fall of 1968.

About 1,000 athletes from the U.S. and Canada took part in the one-day event, which was a joint venture by the Kennedy Foundation and the Chicago Park District.

[21] Anne McGlone Burke, then a physical education teacher with the Chicago Park District,[22] began with the idea for a one-time, city-wide, Olympic-style athletic competition for people with special needs.

[24] The advisory committee to the Chicago Special Olympics included Dr. William Freeberg from Southern Illinois University, Dr. Hayden of the Kennedy Foundation, Dr. Arthur Peavy, Burke, William McFetridge, and Stephen Kelly of the Chicago Park District, as well as, Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson.

[8][28] By 2010, the Healthy Athletes program had given free health screenings and treatment to more than 1 million people with intellectual disabilities.

The 2003 games dramatically changed the perceptions and attitudes of international society regarding the abilities and limitations of people with intellectual disabilities.

[30] Co-sponsored by Representatives Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Harry Reid (D-NV), the bills were passed by unanimous consent in both chambers.

[34] The Special Olympics logo is based on the sculpture "Joy and Happiness to All the Children of the World" by Zurab Tsereteli.

The 30 foot (9.1 m) sculpture by Richard Hunt stands in a plaza next to Soldier Field, where the first games were held 50 years earlier in 1968.

[39] 1 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was originally selected to host the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games.

[44] On March 4, 2022, it was announced that the Kazan games would be cancelled due to safety and economic concerns arising from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[48] People with intellectual disabilities are encouraged to join the Special Olympics for the physical activity, which helps lower the rate of cardiovascular disease and obesity, among other health benefits.

Also, they gain many emotional and psychological benefits, including self-confidence, social competence, building greater athletic skills and higher self-esteem.

[50] To participate in the Special Olympics, a person must be at least 8 years old and identified by an agency or professional as having one of the following conditions: intellectual disabilities, cognitive delays as measured by formal assessment, or significant learning or vocational problems due to cognitive delay that require or have required specially designed instruction.

Ahead of a Special Olympics competition, law enforcement officers carry the torch in intervals along a planned route covering most of the state or country to the site of the opening ceremonies of the chapter or Special Olympics World Summer or Winter Games.

Then they pass the torch to a Special Olympics athlete and together they run up to the cauldron and light it, signifying the beginning of the games.

Special Olympics has more than 30 Olympic-type individual and team sports that provide meaningful training and competition opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.

A key difference between Special Olympics competitions and those of other sports organizations is that athletes of all ability levels are encouraged to participate.

[62] In recent years, Special Olympics has pioneered the concept of Unified Sports, bringing together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities as teammates.

The program has expanded beyond the U.S. and North America: more than 1.4 million people worldwide now take part in Special Olympics Unified Sports.

[67] The Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Regional Research centre is based at the University of Ulster Jordanstown.

[74] Since the Healthy Athletes program began, Special Olympics has become the largest global public health organization dedicated to serving people with intellectual disabilities.

[75][76] In 2012, the Special Olympics Healthy Communities initiative launched in eight countries—Kazakhstan, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Romania, South Africa and Thailand, as well as six U.S. states.

[48] Scholar Keith Storey summarized common objections in a 2004 article in Journal of Disability Policy Studies.

While corporate fundraising makes the games possible, critics argue, it provides good public relations for the sponsors, but does not result in integration of people with disabilities into the workforce at those companies.