霍金亮相倫敦殘奧會開幕 科學之旅演繹啓蒙運動

The Queen has declared the London 2012 Paralympics officially open, during a spectacular opening ceremony watched by some 80,000 spectators.

In one heart-stopping moment during the show, six Paralympians and former competitors - including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson - were flown into the stadium in gold wheelchairs.

Disabled ex-serviceman David Rawlins flew a twin-engined Tecnam P2006 light aircraft over the stadium to kick off the proceedings.

A sphere ignited the "big bang" - something which Prof Hawking, a world-renowned physicist who has motor neurone disease, has written about extensively - to start the show and fireworks lit up the stadium.

Professor Hawking and actor Sir Ian McKellen played prominent roles in the ceremony, which also featured a host of deaf and disabled artists, local children and performers newly-trained in circus skills.

Some 3,000 volunteers took part in the event, which organisers entitled Enlightenment and said was "profoundly about science and humanity".

Throughout the ceremony, Prof Hawking acted as a guide to Miranda - a character from William Shakespeare's play The Tempest, who was central to the show - while actor Sir Ian played Prospero, another character from the play.

Inspired by uncertain British weather, umbrellas were also a big theme in the ceremony, which was described as "both spectacular and deeply human" by organisers.

The Queen was welcomed by Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee, before the union jack was carried in by representatives of the armed forces.

It is the first time the monarch has officiated at the openings of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Teams from all 164 countries paraded into the stadium to music mixed and played by three London-based DJs.

The Paralympic torch began its journey in Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, the spiritual home of the Paralympic Games, on Tuesday night.

【新聞快訊】

北京時間8月30日7點10分，經過一場盛大的開幕式，第14屆夏季殘疾人奧運會在倫敦碗揭開大幕，倫敦奧運會結束17天后，倫敦正式進入殘奧會時間。

開幕式文藝表演的主題爲“啓蒙運動”，神祕宇宙星體倒計時過後，一開場科學家史蒂芬-霍金便亮相，用充滿探索精神的話語講述宇宙起源，現場也用數不清的雨傘模擬了壯觀的“宇宙大爆炸”的景象，莎士比亞戲劇《暴風雨》中的主人公米蘭達登場引領觀衆探索未知世界。他用語音合成器發出的聲音，“宇宙從何處來，又往何處去？”“時間有沒有盡頭？” 讓全場屏息聆聽，他的話音剛落，鼓掌、尖叫聲淹沒了“倫敦碗”。霍金被譽爲繼愛因斯坦後世界上最傑出的理論物理學家、英國劍橋大學應用數學及理論物理學系教授。

神奇的時空變幻之旅後，英國女王伊麗莎白二世亮相，隨之英國國旗升起，運動員開始入場。中國代表團由輪椅競速選手張立新擔任旗手。中國體育代表團總人數爲417人，將參加包括田徑、游泳、足球等在內的15個大項的比賽。東道主英國代表團壓軸入場。

所有運動員就位後，殘奧會會旗入場，倫敦奧組委主席塞巴斯蒂安-科和國際殘奧會主席克雷文分別發表講話，表達了對運動員以及倫敦殘奧會的美好祝願，塞巴斯蒂安-科稱本屆殘奧會將是一屆非常勵志、精彩和感人的運動會。英國女王伊麗莎白二世宣佈倫敦殘奧會開幕。

晚會繼續引領觀衆在科學海洋中穿梭，當主角發現萬有引力時，全場62000人一同咬蘋果。接着一系列令人眼花繚亂的表演詮釋了強子對撞、傳承力量等環節，殘疾特技演員的高難度表演令人驚歎。

經過現場最後幾棒火炬傳遞，爲英國奪得首枚殘奧會金牌的耄耋老人點燃殘奧會主火炬，主火炬由200片銅花瓣構成，其中164片刻着參賽國的名字，比賽結束之後可以各自帶回國。

開幕式晚會進入尾聲，英國樂壇常青樹、素有“靈魂樂未來”之稱的非裔女歌手貝弗莉-奈特唱響主題歌《I AM WHAT I AM(我行故我在)》，全場萬人齊唱將氣氛推向最後的高潮，這場難忘的殘奧會開幕式表演就此落幕。