[bc]SAFILO FOR “SPECIAL OLYMPICS”: IN DUBLIN FOR THE WORLD SUMMER GAMES[/bc]
Padua, 17th June 20003 - Between the 17th and the 30th of June Dublin will host the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. This is an important international sports event in which Safilo will actively participate in conjunction with the company’s contribution to the program known as “Special Olympics-Lions Club International Opening Eyes” or S.O.L.C.I.O.E.

Safilo recently signed a three-year agreement with S.O.L.C.I.E., a project focused on giving athletes with learning disabilities the opportunity to improve their vision, through a series of free eye screenings provided to them during sports events and through the donation of frames. Safilo, which has always paid a special attention to social causes and to the world of sports in general, found it natural to get involved with S.O.L.C.I.O.E. and will donate 11.000 frames and 20.000 sunglasses per year for three years.

For the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games Safilo will donate one hundred sunglasses to the Italian delegation, while the athletes who will take part to the Summer Games will receive about 2.500 sunglasses and 2.000 frames.

The 2003 Special Olympics Summer Games will include 20 different fields of sport such as aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, bowling, cycling, equestrian events, football, golf, gymnastics, lawn bowling, powerlifting, roller-skating, sailing, table tennis, tennis, team handball and volleyball.

160 international delegations will take part in the event in Ireland: 7000 athletes, together with their trainers, families, volunteers and sponsors, will meet in Dublin to live a unique cultural and sport experience, which will combine passion for sport with dignity and individual success.