Special Olympics World Games Close in L.A. -- Photodesk

(ATR)Los Angeles is celebrating a successful 2015 Special Olympics World Games.

Competition officially opened on July 25.Over 9,000 athletes from 165 countries participated in the games.Some 2,000 coaches and 30,000 volunteers were in the southern California city last week for the event.

Venues including the L.A. Convention Center, Long Beach, Griffith Park, and Cromwell Field at the University of Southern California hosted events throughout the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.Altogether, the program for the games included 27 Olympic-style sports.

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 during the opening ceremony. IOC member Anita DeFrantz was also in attendance.

The event closed on Sunday.

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.

The summer and winter editions of the Special Olympics World Games, held every four years, are the flagship events for the organization.

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