With 100 days to go until the start of the Paralympic Games, Guardian reporters look at the some of the lessons – and pitfalls – of the previous two events Beijing 2008 The statistics were impressive: an £86m budget, 4,000 athletes and a haul of 89 medals for the hosts, who topped the table.
With 100 days to go until the start of the Paralympic Games, Guardian reporters look at the some of the lessons – and pitfalls – of the previous two events Beijing 2008 The statistics were impressive: an £86m budget, 4,000 athletes and a haul of 89 medals for the hosts, who topped the table.
BPA unveils strategic plan that aims to use profile of London 2012 to help ‘inspire a better world for disabled people’ The British Paralympic Association has vowed to use the momentum of this summer’s London Games to help improve the grassroots provision of disabled sport and “inspire a better world for disabled people”. Against a backdrop of renewed concern from Paralympic luminaries including Tanni Grey-Thompson that wider changes to the welfare system could harm sporting chances, the BPA has unveiled a new “five-year vision”. It will seek to use the profile of London 2012 to help improve grassroots sport provision, change attitudes towards disabled people in society and improve accessibility.
Games artistic directors reveal details about the event, including the title and the number of performers London’s Paralympics opening ceremony will be called Enlightenment and will feature disabled performers, including soldiers, who are learning circus skills to help them perform aerial work on a 35 metre-high rig. A few details of the ceremony, due to take place on 29 August, were disclosed at a briefing on Wednesday.
Geoff Holt was prevented from boarding a train by a guard who told him that his electric wheelchair would damage the floor The first quadriplegic sailor to cross the Atlantic solo has described his anger at being prevented from boarding a train by a guard who told him that his electric wheelchair would damage the floor. Geoff Holt, 45, told how he was left with “a sense of genuine rage” following the incident on the platform beside an Isle of Wight train, where he said that the guard suggested that he was a liar and cut his leg when he eventually threw down a ramp for him to board. The unnamed guard has now been suspended pending an investigation into the incident involving the Island Line’s three-minute Ryde Pier to Ryde Esplanade service, according to its operators Stagecoach Group .
I asked on Twitter for some tips about arts projects by, for and involving people with disabilities. Here are some that didn’t make my piece Today’s G2 has a large preview of next year’s arts events . I wrote a short piece for it about the many exciting-sounding arts events for, by and involving people with disabilities
Disabled people are excited about the Paralympics in 2012. But they would rather have money to eat than watch a couple of ceremonies The results of a recent survey by disability charity Scope suggested that many disabled people think that the Paralympic Games are a waste of money. When I first read this, I was more than a little surprised
Combined tournaments would mean disabled athletes being taken more seriously, according to majority of those polled Almost two-thirds of disabled people want the Paralympics scrapped and merged with the Olympics, a survey has shown. Support for such a move is backed by 65% of disabled people and 62% of parents of disabled children, according to a poll for the charity Scope . More than half of all Britons polled, including those without disabilities, said combining the Olympics and Paralympics would help disabled athletes to be taken more seriously and improve society’s views about disabled people
London transport is ‘getting worse’ in the runup to the 2012 Games and could turn legacy claims into an embarrassment Iman Saab has just been left behind by a London bus that she needed to take because her two nearest underground stations are inaccessible to her. After 20 minutes, another half-empty bus arrives but once again she is unable to board. The reason
Athletes power to 50mph underground as the North East revels in its big weekend of sport The Great North Run was another excellent spectacular at the weekend, with a new record for the overall winner and Newcastle’s Lord Mayor Geoff O’Brien pounding along, the last mile barefoot to raise the profile of his chosen charity, Islamic Relief . There was also respectful silence from the 54,000 participants, and thousands of spectators, as the Red Arrows streaked overhead
