Chinese President Hu Jintao declared open the 2007 Special
Olympic World Summer Games at the opening ceremony in Shanghai on
Tuesday.
A record 7,291 athletes from 164 countries and regions are set
to take part in the 21-sport Games slated for Oct. 2-11 in
Shanghai, with the eldest aged 69 and the youngest at 8.
Marking the first time the Games have been held in Asia, the
Games also welcome 2,302 trainers, more than 20,000 family members
of the intellectual disabled athletes, celebrities, VIPs and some
40,000 volunteers from all over the world.
The three-hour-long opening ceremony was visually striking with
dazzling lighting, fireworks, costumes and overwhelming music.
The extravagant ceremony, featuring 5,800 performers, started
with a drum show called "Harmony: Hearts Beating As One", performed
by actors with intellectual disabilities.
"Individually each drum produces a unique sound, but together
each separate sound complements the other to create a unified
single chord which expresses the Special Olympics spirit of harmony
and embrace, " music director Liu Tong revealed just ahead of the
ceremony.
"I hope the music can express the Special Olympics' spirit to
the world and let all the people be surprised by the talent and
courage of the Special Olympics athletes," added Liu.
After the drum performance, the gala show was led into four
chapters of performance, characterized apiece by the four themes of
the Special Olympics spirit, namely courage, sharing, skill and
joy.
Amid the performance, some of the leading singers, actors and
musicians from home and abroad also made the appearance and gave
extra sparkle to the absorbing feast at the Shanghai Stadium,
performing their masterpieces or interacting with athletes and the
audience.
But it was the Chinese athletes in the parade that stole the
limelight, drawing thunderous applauses from a capacity crowd of
80,000.
The host country sent the biggest delegation on record,
consisting of 1,274 athletes over 21 official events and four
performance events, namely cricket, dragon boat, dragon-lion dance
and Motor Activities Training Program.
More than one-third of the athletes from China's 31 provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities are from Shanghai.
The criteria for Special Olympic athletes are that they should
be at least eight years old, have an IQ lower than 70 and take part
in some sports activities no less than eight weeks a year.
Since 1987, China has sent delegations to summer and winter
Special Olympics World Games. The size of the Chinese delegation
has increased for each event.
With the goal to help bring all persons with intellectual
disabilities into society, the 10-day Games will also feature
activities like "Global Summit for Health and Welfare of People
with Intellectual Disabilities," "Global Youth Summit" attended by
both intellectually disabled youths and regular youths and "Global
Family Forum".
Even before the Games lifted its curtain, the athletes have
first taken part in the Host Town Program on their arrival in
China. During the program, many athletes and their families got the
chance to stay with Chinese families in 12 cities, including
Shanghai, Xi'an and Dalian.
According to the China Disabled Persons' Federation, China has
about 12 million intellectually disabled people. Globally there are
170 million, accounting for three percent of the world
population.
(Xinhua News Agency October 3, 2007)
