Festival of Sport to Follow Paralympics

The organisers of the Paralympics are planning a festival of sport for after the main Games. They are hoping to build upon the nation’s enthusiasm which was generated over this summer of the sport.

During the three months after the Games a series of sport session will be held which Tim Hollingsworth, the British Paralympic Association CEO, says should help inspire and identify potential future medallists.

He says that he is looking forward to using the Paralympics and subsequent festival as “the entry point for the national awareness and engagement in what is possible.” Furthermore he is “really looking to provide opportunities across the UK for people of all ages and all impairments.”

In advance of the Paralympics the flame was lit at Stoke Mandeville on Tuesday night at a ceremony attended by Sebastian Coe, Sir Philip Craven and other dignitaries. The daughter of Ludwig Guttmann, the creator of the Paralympics, will also be there.

The flame is being created out of four “national flames” that were lit by scouts on the four highest peaks of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The flame will then be carried overnight to the Olympic Stadium on a journey which will see 580 specially chosen people will carry the fame.