The countdown is on to the Special Olympics World Summer
Games.
In less than 20 days, the event will debut in Shanghai, the
first city in Asia to host the games for athletes with intellectual
disabilities.
The event will attract more than 10,000 athletes and their
coaches, 20,000 event officials, athletes' family members,
celebrities and sponsors, as well as 1,000 journalists from more
than 160 nations and regions.
It comes ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympic
Games, and will utilize 30 sports venues.
Some 95 hotels are ready to accommodate delegations.
Special arrangements have been made for the athletes.
"For instance, no edged tools are allowed in athletes' rooms and
windows don't open fully," Zhou Xiao, director of the steering
committee's reception department, said.
Different religious beliefs among athletes have also been
considered as well as dietary needs.
The local food safety watchdog dispatched its working staff and
set up a supervisory team in each reception hotel to guarantee the
food quality and nutrition.
Eighteen shuttle bus lines have been opened between the 30
sports venues, offering free transport services athletes, coaches,
families and media.
To ensure an orderly and safe event, the public security
department, armed police force and health department have formed a
unified and comprehensive security and emergency mechanism.
Audiences are required to buy tickets with their identification
cards.
All of the athletes and their families will have the opportunity
to participate in the grand opening and closing ceremonies on
October 2 and 11.
Zhou Weidong, secretary-general of the city's IT commission,
said delegation leaders will be equipped with free mobile phones
and each athlete given a free 200-minute local telephone card.
(China Daily September 13, 2007)