On 25 September, the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (BOCOG) and Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co. Ltd (BOB) signed the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Broadcasting Agreements with China Central Television (CCTV) and Beijing Television (BTV). BOCOG Executive Vice-President Jiang Xiaoyu and BOB General Manager Manolo Romero were present at the signing ceremony in Beijing, China.

Bonn, Germany - From 6 to 17 September 2008, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games will take place in Beijing, China. Around 3,500 media representatives are expected to cover the Games. In the course of the preparation for this unique event, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee (BOCOG) are collaborating to ensure a successful media accreditation process.

The Next Step 2007 Conference, hosted by UK Sport and the Namibian Government, took place from 19 to 22 September in Windhoek, Namibia.

Last week, Classfication was the central topic during four days of meetings at the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) Headquarters in Bonn, Germany.

Yesterday, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced that its Executive Committee approved the List of Prohibited Substances and Methods for 2008.

On 21 September, around 750 employees of the world class-ship builder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) gathered, together with their families and friends, at the FSG shipyard in Flensburg, Germany, to participate in the official launch of the first vessel built for Canadian shipping company B.C. Ferries.

The 2008 International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS) is the successor of the Pre-Olympic Congresses and the Paralympic Congress, and will be held in Guangzhou, China, from 1 to 5 August 2008, themed "Sport Sciences and Harmonious Society in the 21st Century".

On 18 September, following eight days of intense meetings, a Venue Operational Planning Review for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games was concluded successfully in Beijing, China. Various staff members of the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (BOCOG), including BOCOG Venue Managers as well as Apostolos Rigas, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Head of Paralympic Games Strategic Projects participated in the Review.

Hosted by the Hellenic Paralympic Committee, a total of 27 members (National Paralympic Committees, IPSFs and IOSDs) from all over Europe met from 14 to 15 September at the 7th European Paralympic Committee (EPC) General Assembly and Conference in Heraklion, Crete. Representatives from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) also attended the meeting, including IPC President Sir Philip Craven and IPC CEO Xavier Gonzalez.

Bonn, Germany – Last week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that seven cities have been appointed by their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to apply to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The cities, in alphabetical order, are: Baku (Azerbaijan), Chicago (USA), Doha (Qatar), Madrid (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Tokyo (Japan).*