Paralympic Games begin in Beijing

The 2008 Paralympic Games officially got underway at a sold-out Bird’s Nest Saturday evening with a Paralympic record 148 countries in attendance. The opening ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Paralympics on Saturday was another incredible spectacle, comparable in scale and pageantry to the opening for the Olympics on Aug. 8.

The Paralympic flag was raised, and afterward a Chinese athlete in a wheelchair using a pulley hoisted himself to the top of the stadium, lighting the Paralympic flame to cheers from the crowd.

The sport movement for persons with a disability has changed dramatically over the last decades with even more changes ahead. Public awareness has increased. More and more individuals with a disability of all ages find interest in sport.