AMI-audio broadcasts the 2019 Special Olympics Youth Games opening ceremony

Glenn MacDonell describes organizing the 2019 Special Olympics Ontario Invitational Youth Games as like "trying to launch the shuttle." There are plenty of moving parts to organize—venues, food, hotel rooms and athletes—and there will be spectacular performances to celebrate.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics. The organization provides sports training and athletic competition year-round in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. This gives them the opportunity to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community. 

Accessible Media Inc. is helping celebrate the occasion at the 2019 Special Olympics Ontario Invitational Youth Games. The AMI-audio Live team, including Norma Wick, Mike Ross and Brock Richardson, will describe the Games' opening ceremony live from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Tuesday, May 14. The pre-show broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio.  

"The Youth Games is a component of what I call bridging the gap between some very young children who are in our program to some of our more veteran athletes," MacDonell, the president and CEO of Special Olympics Ontario, says. The 2019 event brings together 2,000 student-athletes aged 13-21 from around the world to Toronto over a four-day period—from May 14 to 17—to participate in athletics, basketball, bocce, floor hockey and soccer. 

Kicking off the celebration are, of course, the opening ceremonies. It promises to be a don't-miss spectacle.

"We give it the pomp and the pageantry that an important event should have," MacDonell says. "The viewer and the listener will be impressed by the effort being put into the opening ceremony. It will be a first-class event with entertainment and as few speeches as we can get away with!"

AMI-audio Live broadcast schedule 

How to listen

Tuning in is easy. Visit AMI.ca/listenlive on your mobile device and stream all our coverage, free! Access live description of what’s happening, plus exclusive AMI-audio content. You also have the option of listening on TV. AMI-audio is available on channel 49 on Bell, 196 on Rogers and 889 on Shaw. Visit AMI.ca/schedules for a full list of channels and service providers.  

Download the AMI-audio Live Podcast from any major podcasting app or platform including iTunes, Google Play and Spotify.