As the Olympic Games wind down, China’s capital is gearing up for an influx of new athletes, visitors, and background materials that will accompany the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. More specifically, all of the souvenir stores will be filling their aisles and shelves with Paralympic-themed products.

The following members of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Management Team will be onsite in Beijing to assist with any media and communication related activities:

Former President and National Leader of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, has been the main promoter and developer of this major project. It is considered a gift to the people of Azerbaijan and the Paralympic Movement and set to open on 28 August.

Bonn, Germany - Universal Sports, a multiplatform destination for amateur sports programming throughout the year which is co-owned by NBC Universal and InterMedia Partners, the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee (BOCOG) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced today an agreement to provide the first-ever multiplatform broadcast coverage of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, presented by GE in the United States.

Bonn, Germany - Four accomplished Paralympians and one Paralympic coach, will be celebrated as inductees of the Paralympic Hall of Fame, presented by Visa, this year. The ceremony will be held during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in China.

More than 300 Chinese athletes who will be competing at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games are finishing up their preparation this week at the China Disability Sports Training Centre. With 16 days to go until the Opening Ceremony in Beijing, the athletes are among the 547-member China delegation, the largest in history, competing in all 20 events at the Games.

The Ukrainian Paralympic Team was officially the first to arrive in the Chinese capital of Beijing late last week. The delegation of athletes and officials, which landed at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Thursday, spent less than eight minutes clearing through customs. Beijing, as the host of the 2008 Paralympic Games, had opened a special passage and assigned 12 policemen to help facilitate the procedure.

For the first time during the Paralympic Games, a real-time blog with entries from the IPC President will be up and running for all those interested in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. The IPC President’s Blog will be a daily look into the Games activities, but more specifically, into Sir Philip Craven’s day.

Shortly before the start of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, the 2nd Singapore Boccia Invitational Open 2008 were recently held from 30 July to 2 August in Singapore at the Jurong East Sports Hall.

As the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games are only a few days away, more and more broadcasters are announcing their increased coverage and schedules for this year’s highlight. The Paralympics will be held from 6 to 17 September and are available for viewing all around the world.