(ATR) Los Angeles leaders are celebrating the first official day of competition at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.
Competition opened Sunday with events in athletics, bocce, bowling, softball, tennis, and triathlon. The day ended with open water swimming, handball, rhythmic gymnastics, softball and volleyball.
L.A. 2015 staged the open water swimming events at Long Beach.
The final day of competition for open water swimming will take place on July 30.Long Beach will also host cycling, kayaking, and sailing events for the Special Olympics World Games.
The handball competition took place at the L.A. Convention Center which will also host badminton, bocce, powerlifting, roller skating, and table tennis events on Monday.
Competition on Monday ends with events in basketball, bowling, and rhythmic gymnastics. Altogether, the program for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games includes 27 Olympic-style sports.
The city is still buzzing with excitement over the opening ceremony of the games.
The star-studded lineup for the opening ceremony included the iconic Stevie Wonder, singer/song-writer Avril Lavigne, and award-winning musician Siedah Garrett, who wrote the theme song for the Special Olympics World Games "Reach Up L.A."
Olympians Nadia Comaneci, Michelle Kwan, Greg Louganis and Michael Phelps helped carry the Special Olympics flag into the coliseum. IOC member Anita DeFrantz was also in attendance.
Messages from journalist Maria Shriver, Special Olympics Tim Shriver, and U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, kicked off the start of the games with flare.
Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, theSpecial Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
The organization sets up year-round training and competitions for over 4 million athletes in more than 170 countries. Special Olympics competitions are held every day, all around the world.
Over 9,000 athletes from 165 countries are participating in the games.Some 2,000 coaches and 30,000 volunteers are in the southern California city this week for the event.
The summer and winter editions of the Special Olympics World Games, held every four years, are the flagship events for the organization.
Over 500,000 people are expected to come out to watch competition in L.A. throughout the next week. Competition ends Aug. 2.
Written and reported in Los Angeles byNicole Bennett
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