Opening Ceremony Speech of IPC President

Zun Jìng de Hú Jíntao jí Fu Rén (Your Excellency Hu Jintao，Madame Hu Jintao)

Athletes, Officials, Distinguished Guests

Paralympic Sports fans from all over the world

Wan Shàng háo Huàn Yíng Ni men (Good Evening and Welcome)

We are here tonight to celebrate the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

These Games will have more athletes, more competing nations, and more sporting events than ever before.

As we embrace these milestones in Paralympic history, our hearts go out to the millions of Chinese people who have been affected by successive national disasters in the first half of this year.

Despite these tragedies, China and the Beijing Organising Committee and its President Liu Qi were able to continue preparations for marvellous Olympic Games and what we are sure will be stupendous Paralympic Games.

I would like to thank you all for this great work and hope that our collaboration over the past seven years has been of a cordial, frank, constructive, temperate and deferential nature.

I would also like to recognize the support of the International Olympic Committee, its President Jacques Rogge and His Excellency Juan Antonio Samaranch who is with us this evening.

Tonight, and over the next 11 days, the heroines and heroes will undoubtedly be the athletes.

Paralympians, you have invested many years of your lives to be here. Ensure that you perform at your very best, and that you respect fair play. You never know, you may even exceed your wildest dreams.

You are also here to have fun, make new friends, and create memories in the cities of Beijing, Qingdao and Hong Kong. This is not about hope, but about vision and what you represent. We want to experience your confidence and self-determination, ranging from elite performance on the field of play, to voicing your opinions in the IPC Athletes’ Council elections.

I want to take a moment with you all to recognize this marvellous stadium. The “Bird’s Nest” is a shining example of China’s commitment to a modern world.

We all can see its monumental structure of steel, concrete, glass and other Hi-tech materials, but this architecturally beautiful stadium truly comes to life when inhabited and animated by people like you, the spectators, performers, and athletes here tonight. When combined with the Team and Games Officials, the media and the sponsors, and China’s incomparable volunteers, you all create this unique Paralympic experience.

Starting tomorrow, we will see drama, we will see winning, and we will see disappointment. But above all, when we come together, we will be part of the creation of an almost touchable and definitely breathable distinctive energy source, which is at the heart of the Paralympic Movement, and it is what we call the Paralympic spirit. Once it gets hold, you can never let go. It will last you a lifetime!

During the twelve days of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, you will realize that the differences that you might have thought existed in the world are in fact, far less apparent.

You will see that, we are all people of One World

Xiè Xie.

It now gives me great pleasure to invite the President of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Hu Jintao, to declare open the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games