The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Summer Games should have the largest media presence than any other Paralympic Games, said Zhang Qiuping, director of the Paralympic Games Department of Beijing 2008.
About 4,000 journalists are expected to attend, compared to around 3,000 that covered recent editions of the Paralympic Games.
Zhang said in light of the practice of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding news coverage, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is considering requesting that journalists be accredited. He said, “we need to make sure how many disabled journalists will come to cover the Paralympics so that we can make accessible facilities for them”.
Zhang also said that disabled athletes would not only compete at the Paralympics but would probably tour Beijing, so the creation of an accessible environment is very important.
The Olympic Games are between August 8-24 and the Paralympics will run from September 6-17. BOCOG will display the Paralympic symbols on all venues used for the Paralympics during a 12-day transition process between August 15 and September 5.
To make it easier for the spectators most of the Paralympic venues will be located at the Olympic Green and the university area.
Zhang said the Paralympic Games torch relay route differs from the Olympic Games, and the relay program will be made public during the second half of 2007. Plans for marketing the Paralympics and the torch relay route are being drawn up and will be released later this year. The torch relay will be held after the Olympic Games are over.
