Shanghai Daily news

Spanish tenor Jose Carreras of "Three Tenors" fame will head a star-studded cast of Chinese and international performers for the closing ceremony of the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games on Thursday night.
Also in the line-up will be Italian soprano Maria Lucia, Danish pop band Michael Learns to Rock, American saxophone player Kenny G and Shanghai baritone Liao Changyong, the Games steering committee said yesterday.
More than 4,000 performers from all over China will also take part.
The ceremony, at the 70-year-old Jiangwan Stadium, will be divided into five parts, with the theme "Sunshine, Life."
The 80-minute event will have opening and closing segments and three segments entitled "Connection of the Hearts," "Happy You and Me" and "Linger to Eternity."
Equality and inclusiveness and the courage to challenge will be expressed through the performance to encourage athletes to face and overcome difficulties and to pursue a promising future.
"We expect a resonance among the audience, performers and the athletes," said Teng Junjie, chief director of the ceremony.
In the opening part, 60 intellectually disabled and 200 other people will build up a stage 50 meters long and 30 meters wide in front of the audience in three to four minutes.
"It's our unique idea, to show the power of people, both healthy and disabled," said Teng.
"Special Olympics athletes must have some impression of Shanghai and its culture after more than 10 days here and we expect the ceremony will be a great round-up of their journey to China."
Meanwhile, praise for the opening ceremony has continued to pour in from officials and media around the world.
Peter Wheeler, executive vice president of Special Olympics International, said yesterday the opening ceremony brought the Special Olympics to a new level.
Ossie Kilkenny, an SOI board member, compared it with the opening ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. It demonstrated Chinese culture with simplicity and dignity, he said.
Lee Todd, chief of World Games and competitions of SOI, praised the opening ceremony as a "logistics miracle."
Kirsten Suto, media relations manager for SOI, said praise has also come from overseas media.
Pirie Grossman, co-chairman of the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, yesterday promised an exciting experience to the athletes who will take part in the event in Boise, Idaho, in the United States.
"The beauty is phenomenal out there, the mountain is just spectacular," Grossman said in Shanghai where she has been attending the Summer Games.
Boise will host the Winter Games from February 6 to 13, 2009, and more than 2,000 athletes from 100 countries and regions are expected to compete.