(ATR) The symbol of the Paralympic Games is now adorning Copacabana Beach.
A sculpture of the Agitos was unveiled on Friday by the city of Rio de Janeiro, the International Paralympic Committee and the Dutch social enterprise Dopper.
The artwork is made of recycled plastic that children from Rio’s municipal schools helped to collect. It is displayed on the sand outside the Copacabana Palace Hotel.
IPC President Philip Craven was among those on hand for the unveiling. He was given the honor of taking the first "selfie" in front of the Agitos.
Opening Ceremony Preview
The opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games is Sep.7 and Rio 2016 organizers are guaranteeing it will be just as good and perhaps even better than its Olympics counterpart.
But there weren’t many secrets divulged.
The ceremony planners, in a press conference on Friday, did say the event will excite several senses of the audience in addition to vision.
Two thousand volunteers and 500 professionals are involved in the production and it was also revealed that while the Paralympic cauldron will be the same as the Olympic one, it will be lit in a much different fashion.
Para-Rowing Confirms Entries
The para-rowing regatta begins on Sep. 9 with a total of 96 para-rowers competing in four classes, each featuring a total of 12 boats.
Athletes from 26 countries will be racing at the regatta course on the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon in the heart of Rio. That’s an increase of three countries from the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. All told, 36 countries took part in the qualification process for Rio, eight more than for London 2012.
Given the IPC suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee and Russian Para athletes for the Games, the two Russian qualification slots have been re-allocated by the IPC to Germany and the United States.
The para-rowing regatta is scheduled to run through Sep. 11 with a reserve day available on Sep. 12.
The Paralympics begin on Sep. 7 and end on Sep. 18.
Written by Gerard Farek
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