SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The 2013 Special Olympic World Winter Games kicked off in the alpine town of Pyeongchang, located northeast of Seoul, on Tuesday with a grand opening ceremony.

About 3,300 intellectually disabled athletes from 110 countries will compete in seven sporting events, such as snowboarding, alpine skiing and figure skating, and one demonstration sport, floorball.

Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is among world leaders attending the opening ceremony to celebrate the theme of this year's event, "Together, We can."

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Special Olympics International Chairman Timothy Shriver jointly declared the opening of the World Winter Games.

The Special Olympics will run until Feb. 5.