International hit song ‘You Raise Me Up’ was performed as part of the Closing Ceremony Finale at the Beijing Winter Paralympics recently. The theme of the closing ceremony was Call to Love, with the emphasis on Peace and Unity.
‘You Raise Me Up’ was originally released in 2002 by the Norwegian-Irish duo Secret Garden, written by the band’s Rolf Løvland with lyrics by the Irish author and songwriter Brendan Graham. A year later, Josh Groban’s version climbed to the #1 spot on the Billboard adult contemporary chart followed by Westlife’s UK No.1 and Record of the Year cementing the song’s status as a modern classic. It’s since become a hit many times over around the world, covered by more than a 1,500 hundred artists in over 40 languages.
‘It’s one of the most widely-recorded songs of the 21st century. Its gentle melody and inspirational words have struck a chord in people’s hearts around the world. Performed in sign language by hearing-impaired dancers and sung by blind musician Jiang Can, the song is the perfect finale to the Winter Paralympics, an occasion when human beings have once again demonstrated their indomitable will when confronted with adversity’’ – China’s Global Television Network (CGTN)
