After an introduction by me, what follows are the highlights of 2 lengthy wikipedia pages.

The Opening Ceremonies:  Extravagantly choreographed and costumed performances involving a cast of thousands were fairly impressive, but …  The torch relay in the ‘Crows Nest’ stadium was moving and meaningful, with 7 or 8 athletes, including an athlete enthusiastically pumping his arm-without-a-fist, a blind athlete with a seeing eye dog, and then (here’s where I begin quoting Wikipedia):

wheelchair athlete Hou Bin lifted himself through the air by hauling himself up on a rope to light the Paralympic flame.^{[14] [15]}

Universal Sports provided live coverage for North America and hosts a video of the entire proceedings on its website. ^[7]

Twenty sports are on the program:

Rowing will make its first appearance in the Paralympics at these games.

Origin & History:

On the day of the opening of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann of Stoke Mandeville Hospital organised a sports competition for British World War Two veteran patients with spinal cord injuries. The games were held again at the same location in 1952, and Dutch veterans took part alongside the British, making it the first international competition of its kind. These Stoke Mandeville Games have been described as the precursors of the Paralympic Games. The Paralympics were subsequently officialised as a quadrennial event tied to the Olympic Games, and the first official Paralympic Games, no longer open solely to war veterans, were held in Rome in 1960. [The Toronto 1976 Games was the first to include athletes with disabilities other than spinal cord injuries.]

Slogan: “One World, One Dream” (simplified Chinese: ????? ?????; traditional Chinese: ????? ?????).

Theme Song: ‘Everyone is No.1′

XIII Paralympic Games
“Sky, Earth, and Human Beings”, emblem of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games
Host city	Beijing, China
Nations participating	148
Athletes participating	over 4,200
Officially opened by	President Hu Jintao

  » Comment | Edit |   Quote

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Categories: Off topic
Tags » ability | access | culture | disability | freedom | olympics | power | Rehabilitation

Subscribe to Updates (be notified if this post is edited)

url

Your Email address:

Subscribe to All Pages' Updates: