World Games Shifts Attention to Abu Dhabi -- Photodesk

(ATR) The flame of hope has been extinguished in Austria and the World Games flag has been passed to its future organizers - Abu Dhabi.

The next Special Olympics World Games will take place in 2019.

The flag handover was held during the closing ceremony of the Austria Games on March 25.

The handover was followed by a presentation by the upcoming hosts where they revealed the future Games logo. The presentation featured a stage of palm trees symbolizing the Emirati "Tree of Life". Characters picked fronds from the tree, each with an important Games value written on it. The values included unity, perseverance, bravery, inspiration, authenticity and giving.

The ceremony closed with speeches from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Graz mayor Siegfried Nagl along with performances by America's Got Talent winner Grace VanderWaal and dance group "Ich bin O.K".

The night ended as it began with a host of fireworks filling the sky above Graz.

Click here for photos of the Closing Ceremony and flag handover presentation.

Homepage photo: Special Olympics

Written by Courtney Colquitt

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