The Special Olympics World Games have been heralded as the largest sporting event for people with intellectual and multiple disabilities that has ever taken place in Germany. But how many people came to watch and cheer?
It’s full in the Messe Berlin. Athletes in tracksuits push past volunteers in purple T-shirts. There are also countless spectators who switch between the halls from one sport to another.
300,000 fans before the last day
Sven Albrecht, Federal Managing Director of Special Olympics Germany, draws a positive conclusion: “Our goal was to involve almost 300,000 viewers. We always thought that was very ambitious. But we reached the number one day before the end.” He was overwhelmed.
Some sports pull more than others. Queues keep forming in front of the judo and powerlifting halls. The accompanying families and delegations cheer on the boccia and table tennis. It becomes even more manageable at the more distant sports facilities. On the golf course in Bad Saarow and on the regatta course in Grünau, the athletes are even more among themselves.
Full grandstands thanks to “Fans in the Stands”
At the entrances to the grandstands, one sign in particular always catches the eye: “Fans in the Stands”. School and day-care groups usually sit in the marked spaces. The program was created by the organizers before the games in order to attract a larger audience. School classes, clubs, universities and companies could register for a day of cheering. They don’t pay an entrance fee for this. There are a total of 697 groups with 20,553 people. So even on a rainy Tuesday at 10 a.m. there are enough field hockey spectators to start one La Ola wave after the other.
The atmosphere was glorious not only at the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.
“The fans give a lot of love and strength”
The Berlin student Tim Linke came to athletics with his fellow students. Her professor registered her. Instead of sitting in the lecture, the students cheer on the athletes on Thursday at 30 degrees and without any shade. “We are here with a lot of noise to greet and support all athletes from all over the world” says Linke.
He wants everyone to remember Berlin well. The cheering is also carried to the participants over the blue tartan track. “You know the fans have your back. And they give you a lot of love and strength” says athlete Heidi Kuder. It’s a really nice feeling: “You always want to experience that.”
Participants and fans of the Special Olympics celebrate on the square in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
Full grandstands, contagious mood
In the so-called “City Cluster”, consisting of the Neptunbrunnen, “BeachMitte” and Straße des 17. Juni, spectators do not have to pay admission. This has a particularly positive effect on beach volleyball. During the games in the late afternoon, all stands are full and sports groups who actually want to play in the sand themselves stop and watch.
“It’s crazy. It’s incredible. I don’t think any of us have experienced anything like this before“, says Pauline Clauss, who plays for the German team. When she and her team have actually said goodbye after the game with a lot of cheering, a spontaneous dance party ensues. The mood is contagious.
“We are all challenged now,” says Sven Albrecht, Federal Managing Director of Special Olympics Germany.
What’s next? “A task for everyone”
For the national director of Special Olympics Germany, Sven Albrecht, and many others, the question of what comes next remains. According to Albrecht, the World Games in Berlin set a new benchmark: “There have never been so many spectators at the competitions.” A total of around 80,000 tickets were sold. “It is now up to all of us to use the tailwind that we have collectively generated“, says Albrecht. It is a task for everyone.
The schedule of the Special Olympic World Games in Berlin at a glance.