Safilo for Special Olympics: in Dublin with World Summer Games 2003
2003 Special OlympicsWorld Summer Games were in full swing until June 29. This is an important international sporting event in which Safilo is participating actively through the 'S.O.L.C.I.O.E.' project.
This year Safilo is taking part in the 'Special Olympics Lions Club International Opening Eyes' program, a three-year project aimed at giving athletes with learning disabilities the chance to optimize their sight through a series of vision screenings and the donation of glasses. Always particularly sensitive about, and constantly committed to, social initiatives, Safilo will be donating to Special Olympics athletes 11,000 eyeglass frames and 20,000 pairs of sunglasses a year for three years.
Safilo has donated about 2,500 pairs of sunglasses and 2,000 eyeglass frames to the athletes taking part in the Summer Games in Dublin, whichare given to the athletes who are diagnosed with sight problems during the screenings.
The fantastic opening ceremony was held on Saturday evening at the impressive, packed-to-capacity Croke Park stadium in the heart of Dublin. With brightly-colored flags on display everywhere, an audience of about 80,000 people were entertained by international celebrities in a three-hour show in aid of people with learning disabilities. Mohammed Ali, U2's Bono, Nelson Mandela, the Corrs, Jon Bon Jovi, Colin Farrell, Pierce Brosnan, Eddy Irvine and Arnold Schwarzenegger, were just a few of the personalities who took part in this spectacular show worthy of a great sporting and social event at world level.
The 7,000 athletes from 160 countries who participated in Special Olympics World Games - held for the first time outside the United States - paraded in the stadium and saw the raising of the Olympic Flag and all the stages of the ceremony. Particularly exciting was the entry of the Olympic Torch into the stadium, coming from Athens, after a run of 15,000 km across Europe and 17 cities by the 140 torch-bearers who brought the message of Special Olympics: sport as a means of emphasizing the right of people with learning disabilities to be part of society. Safilo is the protagonist in the area dedicated to sight screening in the 'Opening Eyes' program run by a team of volunteer optometrists. The company was presented with a prestigious plaque as a thank you for the help given to Special Olympics athletes through the supply of eyeglass frames and sunglasses.
Special Olympics World Summer Games 2003 covered 20 different sports including aquatics, athletics, basketball, bowls, bowling, cycling, equestrian, football, golf, gymnastics, powerlifting, skating, sailing, tennis, handball and volleyball. The event in Ireland involved 150 international delegations of athletes from all over the world, together with coaches, families, volunteers and sponsors. In Dublin they all experienced a unique cultural and sporting event which unites passion for sport with dignity and individual achievement.
