SANTA MONICA—This year the Special Olympics World Games will be held from July 25-August 2 in Los Angeles. The week-long event will take place at various venues throughout the city.

The World Games include 25 Olympic-style sporting events. Over 7,000 athletes from around the world will travel to Los Angeles from 177 different countries. The Special Olympics Southern California organization expects 30,000 volunteers, 3,000 coaches and 500,000 spectators to attend the event in addition to the athletes.

The SOSC athletes will compete in aquatics, athletics, bocce, bowling, golf, gymnastics, artistic, softball, and tennis. According to the organization, the Law Enforcement Torch Run Final leg leading up to the games will be represented by Pasadena Police Officer, Cristian Allen.

The opening games will be held at the Los Angeles Coliseum on July 25 at 5 p.m. Tickets range between $30-$120 and are now available on Ticketmaster.

Before the World Games, the 7,000 athletes will spend three days in Los Angeles in Host Towns. Over 100 communities in the Southern California area have already volunteered to be Host Towns. From July 21-24 the athletes will be treated to pre-Games celebrations focusing on culture, entertainment, and recreation. Official Host Towns will endure all costs for hosting the athletes, including lodging, and transportation. Santa Monica will host Brazilian and Romanian athletes for the pre-Games celebration.

The city is encouraging anyone interested in volunteering or donating to log onto www.la2015.org/host-town/santa-monica.