The Beijing Paralympic Games, held in the Chinese capital until March 13, were inaugurated after a very emotional ceremony in which the Ukrainian delegation won the biggest applause of the spectators and the president of the International Paralympic Committee, the Brazilian Andrew Parsons, he made an allegation against the war and ended his speech by shouting “peace.”
The ceremony began with a group of Chinese skiers and snowboarders descending to the center of the stadium, from where they greeted the authorities’ box, which was attended by the President of China. Xi Jinping, and the president of the CPI, Andrew Parsons.
After this first act, a group of Chinese athletes walked the Chinese flag around the stadium, to the beat of the national anthem, until it was placed on a pole and then hoisted. A Beijing representatives of 46 Paralympic Committees to participate in 78 medal events in six sports.
The host country, China, participates in these Games with 96 athletes, more than triple what was its largest delegation (26) in Pyeongchang 2018. Of all the delegations that marched, in which no representative of the African continent was present, the one that received the most applause was the Ukrainian, who took the walk with his flag in fourth place.
The athletes who did not go to Beijing, despite being in China for a few days, are the Russians and Belarusians, who have been excluded by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) due to threats from other countries not to participate if they were there.
A more inclusive world
After the parade he took the floor Cai Qi, chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games, i Andrew Parsons, top CPI leader. “I want to send a message of peace in these horrible times. We don’t want war. We hate it. We need to talk about diplomacy. The Olympic and Paralympic Truce agreed in the 76th Assembly must be respected. We want a more inclusive world, with less discrimination, without conflicts and without ignoring minorities or conflicts, “said Parsons.
“Sport must help unite humanity. The Paralympic movement must be more united than ever against those who violate such rights. We don’t want divisions. Sport must transform the lives of people in the countries “, confessed the Brazilian leader, who ended his speech by calling” peace “.
After the official speeches, the fireworks lit up the purple Beijing sky, giving way to a representation of the various disabilities (physical, visual, cerebral palsy) suffered by the athletes participating in the Games.
Torch relief
This montage ended when two children came out of a crowd dancing in the center of the stadium and approached a blind man to paint the Paralympic symbol on the red, green, and blue marker with a red, green, and blue marker. left hand which he then raised as a sign of peace.
This symbolic gesture, again with the background of the conflict that is lived in Ukraine who presided over the whole ceremony, ended when the Paralympic flag was hoisted while the IPC anthem was played with all the spectators in the stadium standing up.
The ceremony ended with the relay of the torch, carried by various Chinese athletes with disabilities, and which was placed on a geometric figure in which all the countries with his name were represented.
The ceremony was held at the so-called ‘Bird’s Nest’, the iconic stadium that already hosted the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Summer Ceremony.
