Torch Run to launch Special Olympics National Games

The 2026 Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Gibraltar (LETRSOG) will take place at 3pm on Wednesday, June 24, ahead of the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics National Games at the Lathbury Sports Complex.
The annual Torch Run aims to raise awareness of Special Olympics Gibraltar and, where possible, collect funds along the route.
The event will once again start from the courtyard steps of Westside School and Bayside School. The head teachers of both schools will be joined by the Principal of the College of Further Education and students from the three institutions, highlighting the education community’s support for people with intellectual and learning disabilities.
Following the lighting of the Flame of Hope torch, the Commissioner of Police and LETRSOG patron, Mr Owain Richards, will receive the torch before handing it to the first runner to begin the event.
This year’s route will take runners along Waterport Road, Glacis Road, Winston Churchill Avenue and Bayside Road before passing through Ocean Village, Marina Bay, Casemates and Main Street. The runners will regroup at the Ragged Staff car park before continuing via Rosia Road and Camp Bay to the Lathbury Sports Complex through Dudley Ward Tunnel, Europa Road and Buena Vista Road.
The Torch Run is expected to conclude at around 6pm, when the final runner will hand the torch to a Special Olympics athlete. The athlete will then carry it in a relay run to the Special Olympics cauldron, officially opening the 2026 National Games.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics was founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1981 by police chief Richard La Munyon as a way of raising funds and awareness for Special Olympics through the involvement of law enforcement agencies.
Gibraltar launched its programme in 1988, becoming the first country in Europe to establish an official LETRSO initiative. Originally known as the Essential Services Torch Run, LETRSOG today brings together the Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Service, Royal Gibraltar Police, Gibraltar Defence Police, HM Customs, HM Prison Service and the Borders and Coastguard Agency.