Disney has announced details on its coverage for the upcoming Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025, which will feature more than 1,500 athletes and Unified partners (athletes without intellectual disabilities) from 100 global delegations who will compete in eight winter sports in Turin, Italy as part of one of the largest inclusive sports events of the year.

The Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 takes place between March 8th and the 15th. The week will mark the first World Winter Games since 2017, with ESPN media platforms bringing coverage of the World Winter Games across the globe.

Coverage for the Games will begin with the World Games Opening Ceremony at Inalpi Arena on March 8th 2025 starting at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+, ESPN3 and for the first time on Disney+. Kevin Negandhi, Jen Lada and Special Olympics athlete Daina Shilts will host, along with reporting in Turin from Victoria Arlen and Sam Borden.

As part of ESPN’s programming for Games, live event coverage for Figure Skating will air on March 12th 2025 beginning at 11:15 a.m. ET, March 13th 2025 at 11:30 a.m. ET, and March 14th 2025 at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN+ and ESPN3.  ESPN+ coverage will also be available to ESPN+ subscribers via Disney+.

Live event coverage for Short Track Speed Skating will air March 13 through March 14 beginning at 3:30 a.m. ET each day on ESPN+ and ESPN3. Patrick Kinas and Olympic Silver Medalist Ben Agosto will lead live figure skating coverage, with Victoria Arlen providing athlete interviews. Jen Lada, Sam Borden, Victoria Arlen and Daina Shilts also will be reporting.

ESPN’s coverage will be rounded out with a Best Of Special Olympics World Games Turin 2025 program April 6th from 1 – 2 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN+, capturing and recapping the top moments from the World Games along with original multiple features and stories. Kevin Negandhi, Jen Lada, Sam Borden, Victoria Arlen and Daina Shilts will be reporting for the show.

Kevin Martinez, Vice President of ESPN Corporate Citizenship said in a statement:

“It is an incredible honor for ESPN, ABC and The Walt Disney Company to showcase the inspiring stories of Special Olympics athletes competing on the global stage in Turin and the life changing benefits of promoting social inclusion and acceptance on and off the field of play.  Special Olympics continues to break barriers, foster inclusion and demonstrate the unifying power of sport, and we are proud to bring these moments to audiences around the world.”

ESPN’s relationship with Special Olympics spans more than 40 years. Since 2013 that relationship has deepened, with ESPN serving as the official global media partner for Special Olympics World Games and USA Games events in Los Angeles (2015), Austria (2017), Seattle (2018), Abu Dhabi (2019), Orlando (2022) and Berlin (2023), as well as the 50th Anniversary of Special Olympics in Chicago in 2018.

Additionally, ESPN and Special Olympics have a long-standing alliance to use the power of sports to promote social inclusion and acceptance through support and sponsorship of Special Olympics Unified Sports. Dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences, Unified Sports brings athletes with and without intellectual disabilities on to the same team. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. Since 2013, ESPN has served as the Global Presenting Sponsor of Unified Sports, resulting in a 182 percent increase in Unified participants globally, bringing the number to over 1.8 million participants.

Here’s the schedule for the coverage:

Will you be checking out the Special Olympics on Disney+?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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