Athletes joining this year's Special Olympics World Games 2015 in Los Angeles will be welcomed by no less than First Lady Michelle Obama when the event opens on Saturday, reported the Associated Press.

"Her vision of wellness, fitness and inclusion of all in sport is at the heart of Special Olympics," Tim Shriver, Special Olympics Chairman, said.

The US president's wife has long been a leading advocate of fitness and healthy lifestyles.

The Special Olympics, to be participated in by about 7,000 athletes representing 26 different sports, is the largest sporting event to be hosted by Los Angeles since the 1984 Summer Olympics.

The nine-day event will highlight athletes with intellectual disabilities. They will be competing in sports such as swimming, basketball, track and field, and gymnastics.

The activity will held at the Los Angeles Coliseum, which was also the venue of the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics.

Around 500,000 spectators are expected to witness the various events, which will all be free except for the opening ceremony.

ESPN will air live the three-hour opening, which will feature entertainers, musicians and former Olympic champions.

Stevie Wonder and Avril Lavigne will deliver performances, as the latter intends to perform her song "Fly" publicly for the first time.

Others celebrities joining the event are talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, actress Eva Longoria and Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps and Greg Louganis.

Similar to the Olympic Games, the Special Olympics World Games 2015 will also have a parade of athletes and the lighting of the torch.

"It's going to be a real celebration of our theme, which is celebrating courage, determination and joy, and creating awareness that leads to acceptance and inclusion," Patrick McClenahan, the games' president and CEO, said.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Kings' Tyler Toffoli, Alec Martinez and Jeff Carter welcomed on Thursday Special Olympics World Games 2015 athletes to their home court, according to NHL.com.

The Kings gave Special Olympians from Barbados and Macedonia a tour of their practice facility, including its state-of-the-art, skylighted weight room,

The athletes were shown video highlights of the team's 2013-14 season before a question-and-answer session was held.

The King's coach Darryl Sutter's son Chris has competed in the Special Olympics. Because of his closeness to the players and the coaching staff, he is now considered a part of the team.

"We see Chris around all the time, and he's basically one of the guys on the team," Toffoli said.

"He comes in here and makes us laugh. We know how Chris is. He's incredible, and for us to give back and help out here with the Special Olympics and show off our facility, it was a good experience," he added.

The Special Olympics World Games 2015 aims to draw attention to the plight of persons with mental disabilities and give hope that they too can still live normal, happy lives.