2004 Paralympic Games: one year to go!
In one year from the 17 September 2004, the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games will be held at the Athens Olympic Stadium. From 17 to 28 September 2004, some four thousand athletes with disabilities will be competing in 19 sports.
19 sports
Fifteen of these, (Archery, Cycling, Football (5x5 and 7x7), Judo, Riding, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Table Tennis, Track, Volleyball, Wheelchair Basketball, and Wheelchair Fencing) are the same with the Olympic Games. Four (Boccia, Goalball, Powerlifting, and Wheelchair Rugby) are only in the Paralympic Games.
Twenty venues
Twenty out of the twenty-eight Olympic competition venues in Attica will be used for the events.
The Athens records
The 2004 Paralympic Games will be the largest ever held, in terms of participants. Already the countries that will participate have reached the record number of 143. The Paralympic Games will also be attended by 600 members of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), 1,450 members of International Federations, some 10,000 members of National Paralympic Committees, and about 3,000 media representatives. ISB (International Sports Broadcasting) will televise more than 300 hours of live Paralympic competition.
Greece embraces the Paralympic Games