Beijing Honorary Citizenship Given to IPC President

After an official one-year anniversary event in Beijing, China, celebrating the Paralympic Games last year, the Mayor of Beijing, Guo Jinlong, has presented Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), with an Honorary Citizen Award.

Sir Philip said that receiving the Honorary Citizen Award from the Mayor of Beijing is a tremendous tribute to the people of the Paralympic Movement who came together for the Games last year.

“The legacy from the Games is alive and well here in Beijing and the memories remain close to our hearts,” Sir Philip said. “It is clear that the Paralympics would not have been carried out in such a professional and thorough way without the incredible effort from everyone in Beijing and China.”

In addition to receiving the award, Sir Philip was on hand to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Games. The official event which took place on 6 September recognized the achievements and legacy of Beijing. Sir Philip was in the Chinese capital for the evening celebration and gave a speech on the changes which occurred during the Games, as well as the effects on the Paralympic Movement today.

The award comes after China put together the incredibly successful Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, which brought a total of 3,951 athletes from 146 different countries to compete in 20 Paralympic sports. The Games had a record 1.82 million tickets sold, with an additional 1.62 million tickets provided to children, education and community groups. The Opening and Closing Ceremony were sold out events, in addition to all Swimming events and most of the events in Athletics.

For more information about the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, please visit www.paralympic.org. -> Paralympic Games -> Past Games.

If you want to re-live the outstanding athletic performances at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, go to www.ParalympicSport.TV to watch all the action.