Introduction
The UK has a proud Paralympic history, staging the first ever elite sporting competition for athletes with impairments at Stoke Mandeville in 1948.
Since then, the Paralympics has grown to become the second biggest multi-sport event in the world. For London 2012, more Paralympic tickets have been sold and more athletes from more countries will take part than ever before.
London 2012 will be the biggest Paralympic Games to date as it returns to the country where it first began.
Paralympics in numbers
- 16 countries will be making their Paralympic debut in London: Antigua & Barbuda, Brunei, Cameroon, Comoros, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, North Korea, San Marino, Solomon Islands, Trinidad & Tobago and US Virgin Islands
- 15 Paralympic venues, of which two are Paralympic Games-specific – Eton Manor and Brands Hatch
- 20 Paralympic sports will be played
- £48 million invested in Britain’s Paralympic athletes leading up to London 2012 – more than ever before
- 102 medals won by Great Britain in Beijing
- 165 countries will take part – 19 more than in Beijing four years ago
- 288 athletes make up ParalympicsGB team for London 2012 – our biggest ever team
- 500 hours of Paralympic Games action broadcast live in the UK
- 515 medal events
- 1,800 wheelchair user athletes
- 4,200 athletes will compete – around 250 more than in 2008
- 2 million plus tickets already sold – surpassing all previous records and bringing more spectators than ever before
Further information
- Read more about our ParalympicsGB athletes
- Hear from Ade Adepitan – Channel 4 presenter and wheelchair basketball star:
- Read more about the work of the International Inspiration programme supporting disabled people around the world
- Read about how the School Games have raised awareness and given young people like Lerab Rafiq a chance to play disability sport