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2008 Summer Paralympics
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Multi-parasport event in Beijing, China
June 2013
2008 Summer Paralympics Beijing 2008 Paralympics logo.svg Beijing, China One World, One Dream(Chinese: 同一个世界 同一个梦想 pinyin: Tóng yīge shìjìe tóng yīge mèngxiǎng) 146 3,952 472 in 20 sports 6 September 2008 17 September 2008 Hu JintaoPresident of China Philip CravenPresident of the International Paralympic Committee Hou Bin Beijing National Stadium Athens 2004 London 2012 Torino 2006 Vancouver 2010
thumb|Iran v South Africa in wheelchair basketball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (2008年夏季残疾人奥林匹克运动会 2008 Nián Xiàjì Cánjí Rén Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was first time the new Paralympic logo featured in the Summer Paralympics since its rebranding after the 2004 Summer Paralympics. The Paralympics (both Summer and Winter) held in Beijing is the first and only to be held with spectators, as the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing held without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
3,951 athletes from 146 countries took part,"Beijing 2008", International Paralympic Committee the largest number of nations ever (ten more than the 2004 Games in Athens). Five countries competed for the first time."CPC announces Canadian team for the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games in China" https://web.archive.org/web/20080914184559/http://www.paralympic.ca/page?a=2113&lang=en-CA September 14, 2008 , Canadian Paralympic Committee, July 8, 2008. As host country, China fielded more athletes than any other country. The slogan for the 2008 Paralympics was the same as the 2008 Summer Olympics, "One World, One Dream" (同一个世界 同一个梦想 同一個世界 同一個夢想 Pinyin Tóng yīge shìjìe tóng yīge mèngxiǎng, lit. "One World, One Dream"). China dominated the medal count, finishing with 89 gold medals and 211 total medals, more than double the next-ranked NPC in both cases. 339 Paralympic records and 279 world records were broken. International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Philip Craven declared the Games "the greatest Paralympic Games ever."http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/17/content_10062213.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20080919231139/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/17/content_10062213.htm dead September 19, 2008 IPC chief: "These are greatest Paralympic Games ever" _English_Xinhua News.xinhuanet.com September 17, 2008 March 23, 2011
Beijing was selected to host the 2022 Winter Paralympics, making it the first city to host both Summer and Winter Games.
Venues
thumb|right|350px|The Beijing National Stadium
2008 Summer Olympics venues Olympic Green
Nineteen competition venues were selected—seventeen in Beijing, one in Hong Kong, and one in Qingdao.http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/venues/index.shtml Competition Venues – The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad July 26, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080726042002/http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/venues/index.shtml July 26, 2008 dead mdy-all
Beijing National Stadium (Bird Nest) - Athletics, opening and closing ceremonies
Beijing National Aquatics Center (Water Cube) - Swimming
Beijing National Indoor Stadium (Fan) - Wheelchair basketball
Fencing Gymnasium of Olympic Green Convention Centre - Boccia, Wheelchair fencing
Olympic Green Archery Field - Archery
Olympic Green Hockey Field - Football 5-a-side, Football 7-a-side
Olympic Green Tennis Centre (Flowers) - Wheelchair tennis
Peking University Gymnasium - Table tennis
Beihang University Gymnasium - Powerlifting
China Agricultural University Gymnasium - Sitting volleyball
Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium - Wheelchair rugby
Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium - Goalball
Beijing Shooting Range Hall - Shooting
Laoshan Velodrome - Cycling (track)
Workers Gymnasium - Judo
Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park - Rowing
Triathlon Venue - Cycling (road)
Hong Kong Equestrian Venues - Equestrian
Qingdao International Sailing Centre - Sailing
Symbols
Emblem
The Games's emblem, "Sky, Earth, and Human Beings" (天、地、人), was unveiled in July 2004, a multicolored Chinese character "之" (zhī) stylized as an athletic figure in motion. Its red, blue and green colors represent sun, sky and earth.http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/graphic/n214342413.shtml Beijing Paralympics Emblem – The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games July 5, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080720184339/http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/graphic/n214342413.shtml July 20, 2008 dead mdy-all
Slogan
The slogan was the same as the 2008 Summer Olympics, "One World, One Dream".
thumb|right|Fu Niu Lele, mascot of the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Mascots
The mascot was a cartoon cow named Fu Niu Lele (福牛乐乐), roughly meaning "Lucky Ox 'Happy'".http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/graphic/n214342414.shtml Introduction to the Design of Fu Niu Lele – The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games July 5, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080606022419/http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/graphic/n214342414.shtml June 6, 2008 dead mdy-all
Theme song
The theme song was "Flying with the Dream" 和梦一起飞.http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/paralympics/2008-09/06/content_7005411.htm Beijing Paralympic theme song shows love for life Xinhua September 6, 2008 September 17, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080929232521/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/paralympics/2008-09/06/content_7005411.htm September 29, 2008 live It was performed by Chinese-Tibetan singer Han Hong and Hong Kong singer and actor Andy Lau.
Torch relay
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
highlights, medal table, and medal winners
Opening ceremony
2008 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony 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."Full Coverage: The Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games" https://web.archive.org/web/20080906201351/http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/ceremonies/headlines/n214589186.shtml September 6, 2008 , Xinhua, September 6, 2008. 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. Performers wearing suits in bright colours paraded round the stadium, as a welcoming ceremony preceding the athletes' entry. 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, as the Paralympic Games traces its roots to Stoke Mandeville rather than Olympia; the host country, as is customary in both Olympic and Paralympic Games, 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.http://en.beijing2008.cn/ceremonies/n214508163.shtml Opening Ceremony plan released – The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games September 6, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080906055923/http://en.beijing2008.cn/ceremonies/n214508163.shtml September 6, 2008 dead 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". 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". The ceremony concludes with Hou Bin, the first Chinese paralympian to be three-time champion consecutively in the same event, lifted himself and his wheelchair up on a rope by strength of arms to the top of Beijing National Stadium, where he lit the cauldron to mark the beginning of the Games.Peopledaily. "Peopledaily.com." China opens Beijing Paralympic Games in celebration of life and humanity. Retrieved on September 14, 2008.
Closing ceremony
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.English People's Daily. "People's daily." 2008 Olympics Closing Ceremony – Beijing. Retrieved on September 28, 2008.
Sports
The programme of the 2008 Summer Paralympics featured events in 20 sports.Paralympics organisers feel London is launchpad for mass-market Games https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/aug/25/paralympics-london-fever-impetus 3 October 2013 The Guardian Owen Gibson 25 August 2012 The number of events in each sport is noted in parentheses.
22em
17px|class=skin-invert Archery (9) (Archery at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Athletics (160) (Athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Boccia (7) (Boccia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Paralympic cycling (Cycling at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
20px|class=skin-invert Road (30)
20px|class=skin-invert Track (13)
17px|class=skin-invert Equestrian (11) (Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Football 5-a-side (1) (Football 5-a-side at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Football 7-a-side (1) (Football 7-a-side at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Goalball (2) (Goalball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Judo (13) (Judo at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Powerlifting (20) (Powerlifting at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Rowing (4) (Rowing at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Sailing (3) (Sailing at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Shooting (12) (Shooting at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Swimming (140) (Swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Table tennis (24) (Table tennis at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Volleyball (2) (Volleyball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Wheelchair basketball (2) (Wheelchair basketball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Wheelchair fencing (10) (Wheelchair fencing at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Wheelchair rugby (1) (Wheelchair rugby at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
17px|class=skin-invert Wheelchair tennis (6) (Wheelchair tennis at the 2008 Summer Paralympics)
Rowing made its first appearance in the Paralympics at these games.
Calendar
Participating NPCs
The following National Paralympic Committees sent delegations to compete.Official list https://web.archive.org/web/20080909184931/http://www.paralympic.org/release/Main_Sections_Menu/News/Press_Releases/Flagbearers_List_Opening_Ceremony_Final_5_Sept1.pdf September 9, 2008 , International Paralympic Committee. 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.
Burundi, Gabon, Georgia, Haiti, Montenegro and Serbia participated in the Paralympics for the first time.
Botswana was due to take part, but its single athlete, defending Paralympic champion sprinter Tshotlego Morama, withdrew prior to the Games due to injury. The country's last-minute attempt to field other athletes in her place was rejected, as they did not meet the requirement of having participated in international events.https://archive.today/20121130125415/http://72.167.255.126/index.php?sid=8&aid=33&dir=2008/September/Friday5 "Botswna locked out of Paralympics", Mmegi, September 5, 2008
Participating National Paralympic Committees16em
24px Afghanistan
Algeria at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Angola at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Argentina at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Armenia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Australia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Austria at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Azerbaijan at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Bahrain at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Bangladesh at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Barbados at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Belarus at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Belgium at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Benin at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Bermuda at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Brazil at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Bulgaria at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Burkina Faso at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Burundi at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Cambodia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Canada at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Cape Verde at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Central African Republic at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Chile at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
China at the 2008 Summer Paralympics (host)
Colombia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Costa Rica at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Cote d'Ivoire at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Croatia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
CUB 2008 Summer
CYP 2008 Summer
CZE 2008 Summer
DEN 2008 Summer
DOM 2008 Summer
ECU 2008 Summer
EGY 2008 Summer
ESA 2008 Summer
EST 2008 Summer
ETH 2008 Summer
FRO 2008 Summer
FIJ 2008 Summer
FIN 2008 Summer
FRA 2008 Summer
GAB 2008 Summer
GEO 2008 Summer
GER 2008 Summer
GHA 2008 Summer
GBR 2008 Summer
GRE 2008 Summer
GUA 2008 Summer
GUI 2008 Summer
HAI 2008 Summer
HON 2008 Summer
HKG 2008 Summer
Hungary at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Iceland at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
India at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Indonesia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Iran at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Iraq at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Ireland at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Israel at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Italy at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Jamaica at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Japan at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Jordan at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Kazakhstan at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Kenya at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Kuwait at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Kyrgyzstan at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Laos at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Latvia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Lebanon at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Lesotho at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
LBA 2008 Summer
Lithuania at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Luxembourg at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Macau at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Macedonia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Madagascar at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Malaysia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Mali at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Malta at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Mauritius at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Mexico at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Moldova at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Mongolia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Montenegro at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Morocco at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
MYA 2008 Summer
Namibia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Nepal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
New Zealand at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Niger at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Nigeria at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Norway at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Oman at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Pakistan at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Palestine at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Panama at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Papua New Guinea at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Peru at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Philippines at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Poland at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Portugal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Puerto Rico at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Qatar at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Romania at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Russia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Rwanda at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Samoa at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Saudi Arabia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Senegal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Serbia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Singapore at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Slovakia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Slovenia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
South Africa at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
South Korea at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Spain at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Sri Lanka at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Suriname at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Sweden at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Switzerland at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
SYR 2008 Summer
TPE 2008 Summer
Tajikistan at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Tanzania at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Thailand at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Timor-Leste at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Tonga at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Tunisia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Turkey at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Turkmenistan at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Uganda at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Ukraine at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
United Arab Emirates at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
United States at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Uruguay at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Uzbekistan at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Vanuatu at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Venezuela at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Vietnam at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Zambia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Zimbabwe at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Medal count
2008 Summer Paralympics medal table
This table is based on the medal count of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The ranking is sorted primarily by the number of gold medals earned by a National Paralympic Committee. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically by IPC Country Code.
Events highlights
2008 Summer Paralympics highlights
International television
Australia – ABC1 and ABC2.
Brazil – SporTV2 and Terra Networks.
Canada – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in English and Société Radio Canada (SRC) in French.
People's Republic of China – Chinese Central Television (CCTV) provided coverage on CCTV-1 (opening and closing ceremony), CCTV-5 and CCTV-7 as all direct live telecast transmission.
France – Eurosport
Japan – NHK's NHK General TV provided coverage on JOAK-1
Azerbaijan – AZTV
Norway – NRK
Sweden – Sveriges Television
Turkey – TRT
United States of America – Universal Sports
United Kingdom – BBC provided coverage on BBC Television's BBC One.
Cambodia- National Television of Cambodia
In France, following the Games, Philippe Juvin, national secretary of the governing Union for a Popular Movement, accused national public television network France Télévisions of having practiced "segregation" by providing live coverage of the Beijing Olympics but only ten-minute daily summaries of events, outside prime time, for the Beijing Paralympics. France Télévisions replied that it would take Juvin to court for slander."Paralympiques: L'UMP accuse" https://web.archive.org/web/20080921051711/http://www.lejdd.fr/cmc/media/200838/paralympiques-l-ump-accuse_150237.html September 21, 2008 , Journal du dimanche, September 19, 2008."Jeux paralympiques: France TV va attaquer Juvin (UMP) pour diffamation" https://web.archive.org/web/20080922005046/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/depeches/0,14-0,39-37006835@7-58,0.html September 22, 2008 , Agence France-Presse, September 18, 2008.
See also
Sports
2007 Summer Special Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
2009 Summer Deaflympics
2022 Winter Paralympics
Notes
References
External links
Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Official Site
International Paralympic Committee
Paralympic Online Streaming Coverage
Summer Paralympics Beijing Athens London XIII Paralympic Summer Games (2008)
Summer Paralympics
Paralympics
Category:Sports competitions in Beijing
Paralympics
Category:2008 in Beijing
Category:Multi-sport events in China
Category:Summer Paralympic Games by year
Category:2008 in disability sport
Category:September 2008 sports events in China
Category:Parasports in China
Category:Olympic Games in China