Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg hosted a special reception yesterday [September 8] at Downing Street to celebrate Special Olympics Great Britain and their athletes before they headed to Belgium to represent the country at the 2014 European Summer Games.
Later in the day, the Belgian Ambassador to the UK hosted also a reception for all the athletes in the Special Olympics GB European Summer Games team.
Thirty-five athletes from the Special Olympics GB team – together with their coaches – attended the event at Downing Street.
The Special Olympics European Summer Games will commence in Brussels with an opening ceremony on September 13 and will continue in Antwerp until the closing ceremony on September 20. This is the European showpiece event for Special Olympics – held every four years for the organisation and its athletes.
In total, 49 athletes from Great Britain will be representing their country at this event. Overall, about 2,000 athletes with learning disabilities from 58 European countries will take part in the following 10 sports events: athletics, artistic gymnastics, football, bocce, badminton, unified basketball, cycling, judo, table tennis and swimming.
Special Olympics GB is the largest registered charity providing year-round sports training and competition opportunities for thousands of people with intellectual disabilities across the England, Scotland and Wales.
