体坛英语新闻：Greek Tourism ministry to help promote 2011 Athens Special Olympics

ATHENS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Greek Tourism Development Ministry has signed a memorandum of cooperation between the ministry and the organizing committee for the Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2011 on Monday.

    The Tourism Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos said on Monday that Greece would once again meet the challenge, as it had done for the Olympic Games of 2004, organizing a sports event to the highest standards in 2011.

    The 13th World Summer special Olympic Games will be held in Athens from June 25 until July 4 in 2011, which will bring more than 70,000 athletes, coaches, volunteers, family members and reporters to Greece during that time.

    Spiliotopoulos stressed that it was the obligation of his ministry and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), which were sponsors of the event, to assist the efforts of the organizing committee that were chiefly based on volunteer work.

    The GNTO has undertaken to promote the Games through an advertising campaign, promotional events and the distribution of printed material.

    The first special Olympic Games started from 1968. Among the 170 million intellectually disabled people worldwide, some 2.25 million people have participated in the special Olympic activities. The 12th World Summer Special Olympic Games was held in Shanghai from October 2 to 12 , 2007.