Jamaica is set to make history in November when the island hosts the inaugural Special Olympics Caribbean Beach Games, which will bring together some 2,000 athletes, coaches, caregivers and officials at Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay.

The event is expected to be the largest gathering of athletes with intellectual disabilities ever staged in the region. It will feature football, basketball, volleyball, bocce and open-water swim-run competitions and will run from November 18 to 22.

Already confirmed for the historic games are Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Guyana, Guadeloupe, Haiti, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Maarten, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and hosts Jamaica, underscoring the event’s regional significance.