GRAZ 2017 | Abu Dhabi 2019 Flag Handover

In occasion of the Special Olympics World Winter Games Closing Ceremony, Balich Wonder Studio has been chosen to produce the Flag Handover to Abu Dhabi 2019 on behalf of the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi.
Special Olympics International (SOI) was founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver (sister of the U.S. President J.F. Kennedy) in 1968 in Washington D.C., USA. Eunice recognized that physical activity enables people with intellectual disabilities more chances for life. In 1968 there were only 1000 athletes from USA and Canada who participated in the first International Summer Games of Special Olympics. In 2017 the Special Olympics gather 4,2 million athletes with intellectual disabilities in more than 170 countries.
During the Graz 2017 Special Olympics Closing Ceremony, Balich Wonder Studio has created and produced a delicate Flag Handover to Abu Dhabi 2019, with the goal of combining professional artists and persons with special needs. On stage there were palm trees, the Emirati “tree of life”, their crowns prosperous and full of fronds in an Oasis of Wonder. The cast was formed by a Bedouin group, a rababa player and a group of women in traditional costume. The characters picked fronds from the palms and each one was carrying the most important values written on it: Unity, Perseverance, Bravery, Inspirational, Authenticity, Giving. From the palms on stage the light spread to 80 volunteers who revealed the logo of the Special Olympics Abu Dhabi 2019.