(BEIJING, September 6) -- The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has praised the draft of the opening ceremony for the 13th Paralympic Games, according to Zhang Qiuping, director of the Paralympic Games Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

On hearing an hour-long report by famous director Zhang Yimou's team to an IPC governing board meeting in Beijing in April, IPC president Sir Philip Craven was deeply moved and almost tearful, Zhang told the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in a recent interview.

"The designers talked at length about their ideas and were surprised to find at the end of their speech that the audience was completely silent," Zhang said. Then, Mr. Craven stood up and said that the only word he could think of is "moving." The other members of the board also backed the draft.

"The IPC Museum almost considers our April report as a kind of collector's item," Zhang revealed.

According to Zhang, the preparations for the Paralympics are progressing according to schedule. BOCOG has given equal importance to the Olympic and Paralympic Games and intends to make them equally splendid. To meet the needs of disabled athletes, Paralympics managers have been assigned to all venues.

BOCOG will take every opportunity to publicize the Paralympics and seek the assistance of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the IPC and the International Paralympic sport federations for the disabled (IPSFs) in everything it does, he stressed.