The 2008 Paralympic Games has been officially opened by Chinese President
Hu Jintao during a stunning ceremony at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing.
In the three-hour spectacular show, 6,000 performers and 4,000 disabled athletes from
148 countries took part in front of 91,000 ecstatic spectators. Britain has a 206-strong
team and was led into the arena by flag-bearer Danny Crates, 800m champion in Athens.
The action across 20 sports begins on Sunday and lasts until 17 September. The opening
spectacular featured a number of disabled actors and actresses, focusing on themes of
space, time and life. What was unusual about the ceremony is that the athletes entered
the stadium first and then watched the performances together with the audience.
"We present two Games of equal splendour as a solemn commitment to the entire world," said
organiser Wang Wei. About an hour into the extravaganza, a female spectator broke through
the security cordon and made it onto the main arena. She was immediately removed by security
staff. This was the first security breach to occur during the Olympics and Paralympics in
Beijing. At the heart of the phenomenal show was Li Yue, a 12-year-old ballerina who lost
her left leg in the Sichuan earthquake in May. She received a huge ovation as she conducted
a group of ballerinas with hearing impairment before being held aloft. One of the biggest
cheers of the evening was for China's 332 athletes entering the arena with Chinese President
Hu Jintao looking on with admiration. The host team is nearly certain to top the medal table.
International Paralympic Committee president Philip Craven promised the Games would be truly
memorable. "During the 12 days of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games you will realise that
the differences that you might have thought existed in the world are in fact, far less
apparent," he said. "You will see that we are all people of one world." Britain's 206-strong
team were the 80th nation to enter the stadium and were led by athlete Crates, a three-time
Paralympian and the defending T46 800 metres champion. The likes of wheelchair athlete Dave
Weir, who won silver and bronze in 2004, is competing in five events, while Welshman Dave
Roberts has the chance to overhaul Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson's tally of 11 golds.
In the Laoshan Velodrome, British cyclist Jody Cundy is hoping to emulate Chris Hoy's
historic Olympic achievement of three golds. Natalie du Toit, who finished 16th in the
women's 10km marathon swim in last month's Olympics, led the South African team to become
the first person to carry a country's flag at the opening ceremony of both the Olympics
and Paralympics. She lost her lower left leg in a scooter accident seven years ago, won
five golds and one silver in Athens, and is expected to dominate in the pool. Team-mate
and double amputee Oscar Pistorius - dubbed "Blade Runner" - is also expected to star.
The Chinese President officially declared the 13th Paralympic Games open before the crowd
watched in amazement as gold medallist Hou Bin, in a wheelchair, pulled himself up on a
rope to the roof of the stadium to light the flame. The Team Test in the equestrian taking
place in Hong Kong is the first taste of Paralympic action on Sunday. Officials say that
more than one million tickets have been sold for the Paralympic events so far and are
expecting one million more to be sold.
This article is talking about Paralympic Games has been officially opened and the action
across 20 sports begins on Sunday and lasts until 17 September.The most interesting thing
is that the ceremony is that the athletes entered the stadium first and then watched the
performances together with the audience. Every atheletes are confident and hardworking to
win the champion.
