The Special Olympics provides sports training and competition to athletes with intellectual disabilities. As Malaysia's Special Olympics Athletes prepared to compete in the 2023 Berlin World Games, U Mobile aimed to rally the nation's support. However, unlike our professional national athletes, they've rarely experienced the thrill of receiving cheers from our home supporters, mainly due to their unique conditions. So, how could we demonstrate the unwavering support of home when their senses are so easily overwhelmed?

To inspire them and let them experience the power of cheers for the first time, U Mobile created an installation where the Special Athletes could be immersed in the loud cheers of supporters without fear of overloading their senses.

The cheers of supporters are important for any athlete and Malaysia’s Special Olympics Athletes are no different. But traditional cheers through a large crowd might prove too much for them as their senses are highly sensitive and easily overwhelmed. To make it manageable for them, U Mobile decided to use technology and ultra-fast 5G connections to give our Special Olympics Athletes a personal experience of home support.

U Mobile brought our Special Athletes to a studio where they were surrounded by huge video screens. A crowd of volunteer supporters then cheered them on from a different location with the cheers being projected onto the screens through LIVE video calls. Sound, light and visuals of the projected cheers were all easily controllable, creating an immersive and adaptable experience that enveloped our Special Athletes.

For the first time ever, Malaysia’s Special Olympics Athletes were able to experience and feel the kind words and energetic cheers of home, which inspired them to achieve their best performance ever in the Special Olympics World Games - 4 Gold, 5 Silver, and 9 Bronze.