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May 18, 2026
SHEBOYGAN – At this year’s U.S. Special Olympics in Minnesota, President/Owner Justin Webb said FifthColor’s mission is to make every athlete “feel like a champion.”
“If the athletes or the families walk out of there and say ‘I was treated like a champion,’ then we’ve done our job,” he said.
Roughly one year ago, Webb said the Special Olympics issued a request for proposal (RFP) seeking an event activation partner for this year’s games.
“It’s really interesting – they referenced they were looking for an event activation partner that could put on a ‘world-class stage,’ similar to the Ryder Cup, to the U.S. Open or to the PGA Championship,” he said. “As an organization, we were like, ‘Well, that’s us.’”
Every year, Webb said the FifthColor team selects a “mission client” to support, with the Special Olympics standing out as the clear choice for 2026.
“We believe nonprofits deserve expert-level creativity and execution,” he said. “So, we pulled our team together, we voted… [and] were happy to proceed with the RFP and to win it.”
As FifthColor’s mission client, Webb said the agency is donating $200,000 to the Special Olympics, as well as discounted creative and activation services.
“We’re happy to do that… because every single one of those athletes is a champion, so we want them to feel that way,” he said.
Unique activations for a ‘Special’ event
Webb said the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus is serving as the host site for the 2026 Special Olympics.
“The campus has been extremely accommodating to us,” he said. “I just cannot be more impressed with how accommodating they’ve been for our special requests.”
Because the event is taking place on a college campus, Webb said FifthColor’s in-house structural engineers had to get creative, designing elements that enhance the experience without damaging existing infrastructure.
“We’ve designed some very unique pieces specifically for the games,” he said. “We’re creating entrance tunnels to the venues that are custom designed, because we’re actually putting large-scale entryways onto cement – [but] you can’t bolt [them] into the cement, and you have to worry about wind blowing things down.”
The timeline of the games, Webb said, is also shorter than that of other events FifthColor has activated.
“They have a much [shorter] timeline [in which] we can go in and activate,” he said. “We only have 10 days, so we’re going to cram what would be [an event] very similar in scale to the Ryder Cup into a 10-day window.”
With a year of behind-the-scenes preparations behind them, Webb said he and his team are ready to kick off setup next month.
“Our team is very good at what they do,” he said. “When we go into these large-scale events, we’re extremely prepared – we built out all of our systems, we know our daily plan, we know exactly what needs to go where and by what date and how we’re going to execute that.”
With plans to send a team of 30 on-site, Webb said FifthColor is excited to transform the University of Minnesota campus into the Special Olympics.
“We’re going to [have] to bring in trucks, travel across roadways and get things inside of facilities that exist on the Twin Cities campus,” he said. “So, there are some logistical issues we’ve been working on for the past year, but right now, it’s just finalizing the details. We feel like we’re really prepared going into this one.”
Inclusive, inspiring
With 75,000 fans, 1,500 coaches and nearly 3,000 athletes expected on campus for the games, Webb said many “large-scale” event activations are planned for the Special Olympics with inclusivity considered at every turn.
“You’re talking about trying to create an inclusive environment for people who might have intellectual disabilities, or they might have tactile issues – those types of things,” he said. “So, we’re trying to take all of those considerations into [account] while we’re trying to build this stage.”
Built-in photo opportunities, Webb said, are also top of mind to help give the athletes postable and shareable moments.
“The Fan Zone entrance is a big one [because] that’s the first experience the athletes will have when they walk in,” he said. “So, we’re creating all sorts of special monument signs and things like that, [because] we want them to have as many opportunities to take photos in special activation spaces as possible.”
Other activations, Webb said, honor Special Olympics athletes of games past.
“There’s a purpose behind all of them,” he said. “You find inspiration in all sorts of places, and we hope our activations will inspire these athletes to go out there and give it their best.”
Though “every event is unique,” Webb said the Special Olympics “hits home a little more” for the FifthColor team.
“It’s great when the event is about brands or the things [they’re] celebrating, but this one’s really about the athletes and the champions they are…,” he said. “So, we take a little bit more pride in what we’re doing [and], at the same time, [try] to accommodate the athletes themselves.”
Webb said he also encourages everyone to support the games June 20-26 – either by watching on TV or, better yet, attending in person.
“I just want people to understand how important this event is, not only to FifthColor, but to the United States,” he said. “I would encourage people to watch or go and experience the event for themselves, because I promise you, if you go to the event, your life will be changed.”
