Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Paralympics ends in Beijing


The Beijing Paralympics has come to an end with another handover ceremony. Boris Johnson, London’s Mayor, was once again in the Chinese capital to receive the flag from Beijing’s Mayor Guo Jinlong. The ceremony did not exude the pomp and circumstance as that of the Beijing games, but the 92,000 people in the Bird’s Nest watched and cheered with great enthusiasm. London 2012's double-decker bus made a second appearance alongside wheelchair basketball star Ade Adepitan. The entire closing ceremony lasted a little under 2 hours and was broadcast on the BBC.

China secured the most medals during the Paralympics with Britain coming second with 42 gold medals under its belt. Britain won 102 medals overall, but came nowhere near China's 87 golds and total of 207, but ahead of the US, Ukraine and Australia. Besides the success, the Paralympics did not secure the large audiences that the main games saw. Most coverage was only viewable via interactive services or the internet leading to some criticism of the the BBC [DigitalSpy]

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