A sculpture featuring the Special Olympics logo“The Eye”is unveiled yesterday at the Yanzhong Greenbelt in Luwan District. It will be one of the few permanent features to remain in the city after the Games. -Shanghai Daily

Shanghai Daily news

With the arrival yesterday of the first delegation of the Special Olympics World Summer Games, the behind the scenes machinery is getting into first gear.

As the six-member team from Ghana arrived at Pudong International Airport, 300 of the Games' volunteers attended their own swearing-in ceremony pledging to serve the Games with the spirit of "dedication, fraternalism, cooperation and progress."

When the games are in full swing, there will be 40,000 volunteers at work throughout the city, helping the various team members and the spectators in a variety of ways.

Another treat for the Special Olympics is reported - the world-famous Spanish tenor Jose Carreras (one of the "Three Tenors") is expected to join the closing ceremony at the Jiangwan Stadium in Yangpu District.

The executive committee of the 2007 Special Olympic World Summer Games has opened two Websites where people can buy Special Olympic souvenirs in cooperation with eBay, the international online auction house.

The Games' souvenirs will only be available from the Website and will not be sold through regular shops, the committee emphasized.

Thousands of handicrafts made by local mentally challenged children and adults are going on sale on the Websites, www.ebay.com in English and www.eachnet.com in Chinese.

The handicrafts, gift boxes, mascots and other items have been collected from special education schools and "Sunshine Homes" - institutions for unemployed mentally challenged people aged between 16 and 35 - in Zhabei, Yangpu, Putuo and Xuhui districts.

The committee expects the Websites' 241 million customers to be enthusiastic for the souvenirs and other products. All the profits will be used on the project "The Blending Journey."

The Blending Journey, to be launched on October 9, will unite 11 needy families with Special Olympic athletes from 11 cities. The families and the athletes will take part in the Host Town Program and the Law Enforcement Torch Run's final journey to Shanghai, then watch the events and the closing ceremony of the Games.

Another offering for the Games happened at the weekend when a movie about the life of a family with a mentally challenged son was screened.

The movie "My Brother An Xiaotian" tells how a young girl An Tong deals with her intellectual disabled brother An Xiaotian, from moments of animosity to moments of deep affection and respect. The hero An Xiaotian is played by Lei Junshen, a mentally challenged Shanghai boy.