Special Olympics countdown begins

Athletes showed off their skills at the Highcross Centre

A 200-day countdown to the Special Olympics Summer Games has been celebrated in Leicester.

The city will host the event in July, having already done so in 1989.

Special Olympics' ambassadors joined shoppers at Highcross to watch athletes show off their skills in basketball, football and gymnastics.

The games are held every two years and involve 2,500 athletes with learning disabilities who compete in more than 21 different sports over eight days.

'The people's games'

A countdown clock which will travel around Leicester was also unveiled.

Games director Steve Humphries said: "There's a massive build-up, there's a lot of leg-work to be done behind the scenes.

"We've got a team working every day, every hour, getting the message out to all of our communities.

"Because it is the people's games and there is an opportunity for every citizen to leave their mark upon these games and come together like never before."

The Special Olympics GB 2009 starts on 25 July, running until 31 July.