(BEIJING, May 19) -- The Paralympic Games Department of the Beijing
Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) released
information on the 13th Paralympiad on the eve of the 16th National Day of
Assisting Disabled Persons (the third Sunday of May). Following is the major
content of the information:
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TIME: The Beijing Paralympic Games will be held on September 6-17, 2008. It
will be opened 13 days after the 29th Olympic Games ends on August 24.
SPORTS: Being an edition of the Paralympic Games with the largest number of
sports in history, it will have a total of 20 sports in the whole Games. Rowing
is the new sport at the Games. Among the total, 18 sports will be held in
Beijing, with sailing in Qingdao and equestrian events in Hong Kong.
MEDALS: A total of 471 gold medals will be awarded.
NUMBER OF ATHLETES: Over 4,000 athletes and 2,500 coaches as well as
officials from approximately 150 countries and regions will take part in the
Paralympiad.
MEDIA: 4,000 journalists of different media from around the world will cover
the Games.
VENUES: The Paralympic Games will be held at the same venues for the August
8-24, 2008 Olympic Games. For the sake of transportation, most venues for
Paralympiad will be in the range of the Olympic Green and the university area,
while the Olympic Village will be the Paralympic Village too.
SLOGAN: The slogan is "One World One Dream", the same for the Games of the
XXIX Olympiad.
EMBLEM: Dubbed "Sky, Earth and Human Beings," the emblem of the Beijing
Paralympic Games is a stylized figure of an athlete in motion, implying the
tremendous efforts a disabled person has to make in sports as well as in real
life. With the unity and harmony of "sky, earth and human beings," the emblem
incorporates Chinese characters, calligraphy and the paralympic spirit. It
embodies the Paralympic motto of "spirit in motion" and reflects the integration
of heart, body and spirit in human beings -- the core of the philosophy of
Chinese culture. The three colors in the emblem represent the sun (red), the sky
(blue) and the earth (green). The emblem was unveiled on the night of July 13,
2004, third anniversary of Beijing's victory in bid for the right to host the
Olympic Games.
MASCOT: On August 5, 2004, solicitation for the design of 2008 Olympic Games
mascot and 2008 Paralympic Games mascot was launched. BOCOG has planned to
unveil Paralympic Games mascot in 2006.
LARGE-SCALE ACTIVITIES: Paralympic Torch Relay before the opening ceremony;
opening ceremony on September 6, 2008; closing ceremony on September 17, 2008.
PARALYMPIC GAMES DEPARTMENT: In September 2005, BOCOG set up the Paralympic
Games Department in order to coordinate the planning and competition operations
of the Paralympic Games,
BARRIE-FREE FACILITIES: To meet the needs of the Paralympic Games, an
instructive document about barrier-free infrastructures has been made to ensure
the barrier-free legacy be left by the Beijing Paralympic Games.
MARKETING: The marketing program of the Paralympic Games is running smoothly.
Eleven enterprises from around the world have become official partners. The
marketing plans for sponsorship and licensed merchandise have also been ready. A
launch ceremony for the marketing of the Paralympiad will be held in the very
near future.
VOLUNTEERS: A large number of volunteers will be serving the Paralympic
Games. As BOCOG president Liu Qi put it, the smile of the volunteer is the best
business card for the city. Those smiling faces will also be a reflection of the
high-level Paralympic Games with distinguishing
features.
