2008 Summer Paralympics
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XIII Paralympic Games
"Sky, Earth, and Human Beings", emblem of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games
Host city	Beijing, China
Nations participating	148
Athletes participating	over 4,200
Events	20 sports
Opening ceremony	September 6
Closing ceremony	September 17
Officially opened by	President Hu Jintao
Paralympic Torch	Hou Bin
Stadium	Beijing National Stadium

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. Mainland China fielded more athletes than any other country. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao.

Over 4,200 athletes from 148 countries were expected to take part.¹ This was the largest ever number of nations at the Paralympics (twelve more than in Athens), and several countries competed for the first time.² The slogan for the 2008 Paralympics was the same as the 2008 Summer Olympics, "One World, One Dream" (simplified Chinese: 同一个世界 同一个梦想; traditional Chinese: 同一個世界 同一個夢想 Pinyin Tóng yīge shìjìe tóng yīge mèngxiǎng, lit. "One World, One Dream").

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Philip Craven declared the Games "the greatest Paralympic Games ever."³

Venues

The Beijing National Stadium

Main articles: 2008 Summer Olympics venues and Olympic Green

Nineteen competition venues—seventeen in Beijing, one in Hong Kong, and one in Qingdao—have been selected for the 2008 Summer Paralympics.⁴

1. Beijing National Stadium (Birds Nest)
2. Beijing National Aquatics Center (Water Cube)
3. Beijing National Indoor Stadium (Fan)
4. Fencing Gymnasium of Olympic Green Convention Centre
5. Olympic Green Archery Field
6. Olympic Green Hockey Field
7. Olympic Green Tennis Centre (Flowers)
8. Peking University Gymnasium
9. Beihang University Gymnasium
10. China Agricultural University Gymnasium
11. Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium
12. Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium
13. Beijing Shooting Range Hall
14. Laoshan Mountain Bike Course
15. Workers Gymnasium
16. Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park
17. Triathlon Venue
18. Hong Kong Equestrian Venues
19. Qingdao International Sailing Centre

Symbols

Emblem

The emblem, "Sky, Earth, and Human Beings" (simplified Chinese: 天、地、人), is a multicolored Chinese character "之" (pinyin: zhī) stylized as an athletic figure in motion. The red, blue, and green in the emblem represent sun, sky, and earth.⁵

Slogan

The slogan is the same as the 2008 Summer Olympics, "One World, One Dream".

Lele, mascot of the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Mascots

The mascot is a cartoon cow named Fu Niu Lele (simplified Chinese: 福牛乐乐), roughly meaning "Lucky Ox 'Happy'".⁶

Theme song

The theme song, sung by well known and popular Cantonese singer Andy Lau is 'Flying with the Dream'.⁷

Torch Relay

Main article: 2008 Summer Paralympics Torch Relay

The torch relay of the 2008 Summer Paralympics started from Tian Tan (Temple of Heaven) on August 28. The flame then gathered before The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿) and followed two routes (the "Route of Ancient China" and the "Route of Modern China"). Both routes returned to Beijing on September 5, and the torch was flamed at the National Stadium during the Opening Ceremony on September 6.

The Games

Further information: highlights, medal table, and medal winners

Opening ceremony

Main articles: 2008 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony and 2008 Summer Paralympics national flag bearers

The opening ceremony took place on September 6, 2008. The pre-ceremony performance was a succession of various musical performances, ranging from military music to folk music and a performance of Ode to Joy.⁸ Following a countdown, a fireworks display signalled the beginning of the ceremony proper. The national flag of China was then raised, in accordance with usual protocol, and the national anthem of China performed.⁸ Performers wearing suits in bright colours paraded round the stadium, as a welcoming ceremony preceding the athletes' entry.⁸ As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, the ceremony included a parade of nations, with a flag bearer for each national team. Contrary to Olympic tradition, the national team of Greece did not enter first; the host country came last. As Chinese is written in characters and not letters, the order of the teams' entry was determined by the number of strokes in the first character of their respective countries' Simplified Chinese names.⁹ Countries with the same number of strokes in the first character are sorted by those of the next character. This made Guinea (几内亚) the first country to enter as it takes two strokes to write the first character in the country's name (几). Following the athletes' parade, a performance took place, divided into chapters and sub-chapters entitled the "Journey of Space" and "Journey of Life"⁸ The sunbird performance entailed Yang Haitao (杨海涛), a singer with a visual impairment, singing about dreams while an acrobat in sunbird costume descended in simulated flight from the air and "awakened the blind singer from his sleep".⁸ The ceremony concludes with Hou Bin, the high jump gold medalist with one leg lighting the flame cauldron.¹⁰

Closing ceremony

Main article: 2008 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony

The 2008 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium. It began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time (UTC+8) on September 17, 2008.¹¹

Sports

Twenty sports are on the program:

Rowing made its first appearance in the Paralympics at these games.

Calendar

Participating NPCs

The following National Paralympic Committees sent delegations to compete.¹² Macau and the Faroe Islands are members of the International Paralympic Committee, but not of the International Olympic Committee; hence they participate in the Paralympic Games but not in the Olympics.

Medal count

Main article: 2008 Summer Paralympics medal table

The top ten ranked NPCs at these Games are listed below. (Host nation is highlighted)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China	89	70	52	211
2	Great Britain	42	29	31	102
3	United States	36	35	28	99
4	Ukraine	24	18	32	74
5	Australia	23	29	27	79
6	South Africa	21	3	6	30
7	Canada	19	10	21	50
8	Russia	18	22	23	63
9	Brazil	16	14	17	47
10	Spain	15	21	22	58