The Mark That Unites Us — Branding A Global Movement

Every day, through thousands of events all around the globe, Special Olympics activates at the grassroots level. Within the framework of Special Olympics, there are 220 Accredited Programs worldwide which reflect the culture, customs and diversity of their local communities. While our mission drives the programs, it is our brand that ties them together.

The logo for our organization is unique in the same way we are unique. Since 1968, Special Olympics has grown to become a worldwide movement with over 5 million athletes who call our athletes their teammates, coaches their mentors, and volunteers their friends. Our mark is what brings us together, and while it has changed over the years, we have adapted it to reflect this.

We strive to engage with people of all backgrounds, languages, religions, genders and abilities — That is central to our Movement. Because of this, we have created our logo so it has the capacity to represent anyone we encounter and help further our movement across the globe.

When creating communication material for your own local community, make sure you are using the Special Olympics logo in the language of the region you are in. Every day, we fight for inclusion, and this is represented down to our logo. It has been translated and created in all our seven languages (corresponding to the 7 regions we serve) because we want everyone who we encounter to know they are included and represented by our brand, and the logo is our most visible image to display this.

Still have questions? For additional guidance, check our brand guidelines p.34 at Special Olympics Brand Guidelines