ROME — On June 8, the Stadio dei Marmi at the Foro Italico hosted the 14th edition of WEmbrace Games, the inclusion sports event created by Paralympic foil champion Beatrice “Bebe” Vio Grandis and the art4sport Foundation. Eight teams made up of people with and without disabilities, adults and children, competed in three dinosaur-themed challenges under the banner Play Wild.
“With Play Wild we wanted to take everyone back to a primordial, instinctive world where there are no barriers, only energy, courage, and the will to play,” said Bebe Vio Grandis. “At the WEmbrace Games everyone finds their own way to overcome their limits and do it together. That is our real victory.”
Eight teams, one playing field
The evening opened with a musical pre-show by the creative collective Touch The Wood. Then came the games. Teams faced three Jurassic challenges including races, rock-climbing walls, and untameable volcanoes, all designed to be overcome together. Entrance was free to watch the games.
Confirmed guests included the Minister for Sport and Youth Andrea Abodi, Italian Paralympic Committee president Marco Giunio De Sanctis, and Rome councillor Alessandro Onorato. Volleyball star Paola Egonu, rugby legend Martín Castrogiovanni, and actor Claudio Amendola were among the celebrities and athletes who took part.
Sport as therapy
WEmbrace Games was founded in 2011 under the name Giochi Senza Barriere (Games Without Barriers), inspired by the television format Jeux sans frontières, and took its current name in 2022. The art4sport Foundation, created in 2009 by Bebe Vio Grandis and her parents, funds the research and development of prosthetics and specialist equipment required for Paralympic sport, supporting children and young people recovering from limb loss.
“The Paralympic movement has grown exponentially thanks to athletes like Alex Zanardi and Bebe Vio, but this growth has not yet reached its full potential,” said De Sanctis. “The fundamental purpose of the Italian Paralympic Committee is to bring as many people with disabilities as possible closer to sport. Events like this help the movement grow.”
“The Play Wild theme evokes an authentic, universal energy,” said Foundation president Teresa Grandis. “A truly evolved society is one capable of welcoming and valuing every person.”
