Beijing set for second show

Beijing, Aug. 26: After successfully hosting the dazzling Summer Olympic Games, Beijing is now all set to hold the 2008 Paralympics and authorities have reported brisk ticket sales.

"All departments concerned are ready for the transformation work, and we are confident of staging another successful Games," director of Beijing Organising Committee for Olympic Games’ (BOCOG) Paralympics department, Zhang Qiuping, said.

The 13th edition of the Paralympic Games will be held in Beijing from September 6 to 17.

Tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies of the event and associated sports events are selling well, a senior official of the Games’ organising committee said.

"So far, more than 480,000 tickets have been sold, 32,000 of them to disabled spectators, their families and friends," Tang Xiaoquan, executive vice-president of BOCOG and vice-president of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation said.

Of the total 1.66 million tickets available for the Paralympics, the best seats will go to disabled spectators, said Zhao Chunluan, chief of the Beijing Disabled Persons Federation. "The ticket prices have been kept low — from 30 yuan to 80 yuan, and can be booked through the official website until September 14," Chunluan was quoted as saying by the China Daily, adding all will be sold on a first-come-first-served-basis.

The logo of the Beijing Paralympics, dubbed "Sky, Earth and Human Beings" have begun to replace those of the Olympic Games. In addition to the venues, buildings across Beijing city have been fitted with easy-access installations.

— PTI