Beijing 2008

The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games were held from 6 to 17 September 2008. They drew global attention to the Paralympics for the first time and highlighted how the event could act as a catalyst to social inclusion.

A total of 3,950 Para athletes (2,583 men and 1,367 women) representing 146 countries competed at the Games.

Thanks to the Games, persons with disabilities in China now enjoy a better social status: more public attention, respect, improvement of social security, easier access to employment, better education opportunities, and much more.

The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games were the first edition of the Games to feature the new Paralympic logo after its introduction at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony.

Following the "One Bid, One City" agreement that was signed between the IPC and IOC in 2001, Beijing 2008 also marked the first Games whereby the Organising Committee had an obligation to stage the Paralympic Games, using the same venues, facilities and infrastructure.

COMPETING NATIONS & ATHLETES

Competition took place in 472 medal events (262 medal events for men, and 176 for women). There were 34 mixed events with requisite male and female athletes.

Six NPCs took part for the first time: Burundi, Gabon, Georgia, Haiti, Montenegro and Serbia.

SPORTS

Competition took place across 20 sports in: Para archery, Para athletics, boccia, Para cycling, Para equestrian, blind football, CP football, goalball, Para judo, Para powerlifting, Para rowing, Para sailing, shooting Para sport, Para swimming, Para table tennis, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.

Para rowing saw its Paralympic debut at these Games.

All sport competition was held at venues in Beijing, with the exception of Para sailing and Para equestrian, which took place in the cities of Qingdao and Hong Kong, respectively.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES

Australia's S9 Para swimmer Matthew Cowdrey had the best individual performance earning five golds and three silver medals for the top spot on the athlete multi-medals table for the Games.

South African S9 Para swimmer Natalie du Toit and Canadian T54 wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc were joint second on the multi-medals table with each athlete winning five golds from five events. At the closing ceremony du Toit was awarded the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award, in recognition of her exemplary role in practicing the Paralympic motto "Spirit in Motion".

Brazil's S5 Para swimmer Daniel Dias won the most medals of any athlete at the Games (four golds, four silvers and one bronze) and was the man to beat in the 'Water Cube', the Para swimming venue.

In Para athletics Ireland's Jason Smyth was impressive setting new world records on his way to gold in the 100m and 200m T13 races.

Dutch wheelchair tennis player Esther Vergeer collected her third consecutive Paralympic Games gold medal with victory in the women's singles, whilst Polish table tennis player Natalie Partyka competed in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, taking Paralympic gold in the women's individual TT10 final.

©Lieven Coudenys

RESULTS

China topped the medals tally for the second successive Paralympic Games winning 89 gold medals. Great Britain earned the second spot with 42 gold medals, followed by the United States with 36, Ukraine with 24, and Australia with 23.

The Games saw a total of 279 new world records set, and a total of 339 Paralympic records broken.

Country

Gold

Silver

Bronze

CHN

GBR

USA

UKR

AUS

TORCH RELAY

The Paralympic Torch Relay Launch Ceremony took place on 28 August 2008 at the Temple of Heaven and was lit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Originally built between 1406 and 1420, the UNESCO World Heritage Site was renovated and restored at a cost of EUR 3.8M in preparation for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. It is one of the 60 tourist attractions in Beijing that have been made accessible to people with a disability, just in time for the Games.

The relay took place over 10 days with 850 torchbearers transporting the Paralympic Flame across 11 Chinese provinces, regions and municipalities.

The flame travelled along two routes - the "Ancient China" route covered the historic cities of Xi'an, Hohhot, Changsha, Nanjing and Luoyang, while the "Modern China" route took in Shenzhen, Wuhan, Shanghai, Qingdao and Dalian.

The official torch relay had been planned to travel on an international route after the creation of the Paralympic Flame including the future Paralympic Games' host cities (London, Vancouver and Sochi). However, due to a devastating earthquake that struck China in May 2008, the international route was cancelled.

OPENING CEREMONY

The 90,000 seat Bird's Nest Stadium staged the spectacular Beijing 2008 Paralympics Opening Ceremony on 6 September 2008 which included 4,813 performers.

Three-time Paralympic champion in men's high jump and Paralympian Ambassador Hou Bin lit the Paralympic cauldron in sensational style, climbing a rope to the roof of the Bird's Nest using nothing but the strength in his arms.

The ceremony incorporated the themes of 'One World, One Dream' and 'Transcendence, Integration, Equality'.

Guinea was the first National Paralympic Committee to walk in the Athlete's Parade. Rather than Latin letters to determine the sequence, Simplified Chinese, a writing system based on characters not letters, was used with the order based on the number of strokes needed to write the first character for the country.

Following this and the artistic elements of the Ceremony, the Games were officially opened by Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China.

CLOSING CEREMONY

The Beijing 2008 Paralympics Closing Ceremony took place on 17 September and featured about 2,000 performers. The theme of the ceremony was 'A Letter to the Future'.

The London Organising Committee, the host of the 2012 Paralympic Games, staged an eight-minute performance to show how sport can promote the Paralympic Movement and positively influence young people's lives.

ATTENDANCE AND COVERAGE

The Games saw 1.82 million tickets sold and a further 1.62 million tickets provided to children, education and community groups. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies were sold out, as were all Para swimming events and most Para athletics sessions.

With 64 rights holders covering 80 countries from all five continents, the Beijing Games had more TV coverage than any previous Games. A cumulated audience of 3.8 billion watched the Games and the total broadcasting time increased by 200 per cent compared to the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.

China's CCTV and BTV broadcast 22 hours of coverage daily on different channels. This included live programming, as well as news.

Following its launch prior to Beijing 2008, there was live sporting action broadcast on the IPC's YouTube channel. This gave those without access to TV coverage the opportunity to watch the event online.

A total of 5,611 media representatives covered the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

LEGACY

Winning the right to host the Games acted as a trigger for the Chinese government to improve the lives of persons with disabilities and protect their rights as equal members of society.

To meet the requirements of the Paralympics, new legislation on the building of accessible facilities was passed. In the seven years leading up to the Games, RMB 1 billion – equivalent to EUR 124 million and the sum of the last 20 years' investment – was spent on making 14,000 facilities, including roads, transport hubs and public buildings, accessible throughout China.

More than RMB 67 million was spent making 60 of the country's most popular tourist destinations accessible including the Great Wall and Forbidden City, both UNESCO World Heritage sites.

At the Badaling section of the Great Wall, some 70 km north of Beijing, a 180m ramp was constructed along with a lift with double doors to allow wheelchair users to enter from one side and leave from the other.

In the Forbidden City a lift was installed at the Wumen Tower which has nearly 100 steps and at Taihedian, Zhonghedian and Baohedian stairlifts for wheelchairs were introduced.

On 1 July 2008, the revised Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of People with a Disability came into force, having been adopted by the National People's Congress Standing Committee months earlier. The law noted that state and society should take measures to improve accessible facilities and promote accessible information, in order to enable equal participation in social life for people with an impairment.

China was also among the first signatories of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – the first international human rights treaty – that came into effect on 3 May 2008.

Medals

The medals for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games were designed with the concepts of "One World, One Dream" and "Two Games, Equal Splendor". The Paralympic and Olympic medals shared similar design concepts. The front side of the medals feature the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games emblem in the centre, surrounded by a ring of jade separating the central medallion from the rim. The reverse face contains the symbol of the Paralympic Movement along with the words "Beijing 2008" in braille. The name of the discipline in which the medal was won is written below the symbol. The reverse side of the medal is also engraved with "Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games" in Chinese and English.

Mascot

Meet Fu Niu Lele – the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Mascot. Fu Niu Lele, the mascot of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Summer Games, is known for its brightly coloured coat and friendly personality. Its name literally means "Good Luck! (Fu) - Cow (Niu) - Happiness (Lele)", reflecting its cheerful nature. The design of Fu Niu Lele was created by a professor from Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design. Wu GuanYing selected a cow as a mascot because he grew up on a farm and saw how cows are gentle and formed bonds with people. The cow symbolises the bond between humans and nature, evidenced by artwork depicting cows in the countryside throughout history.