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| Location | London, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Motto | Inspire a Generation |
| Nations | 164 |
| Athletes | 4,302 |
| Events | 503 in 20 sports |
| Opening | 29 August |
| Closing | 9 September |
| Opened by | |
| Cauldron | |
| Stadium | London Olympic Stadium |
Summer Winter
2012 Summer Olympics | |
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| Part of a series on |
| 2012 Summer Paralympics |
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The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Games as organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
These Games were the first Summer Paralympics to be hosted by London, and the first hosted solely by Great Britain; the English village of Stoke Mandeville co-hosted the 1984 Games with Long Island, New York after its original host, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, withdrew due to financial issues.[1] In 1948, the village hosted the Stoke Mandeville Games—the first organised sporting event for athletes with disabilities, and a precursor to the modern Paralympic Games—to coincide with the opening of the 1948 Olympics in London.
Due to the fact that Parasports is a cultural factor of great impact in Great Britain, the organisers expected the Games to be the first Paralympics to achieve mass-market appeal, fuelled by continued enthusiasm over Great Britain's performance during the Olympics, awareness of Great Britain's role in the history of the Paralympics, the presence of the first global Paralympic star in history – the South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius (who had become the first double amputee to compete in the Summer Olympics alongside non-disabled athletes), and increasing media coverage and promotion of Paralympic sport (including the first developed major advertising campaign made by a local broadcaster). The Games ultimately met these expectations, breaking records for ticket sales, heightening the profile of the Paralympics in relation to the Olympics, and prompting IPC president Philip Craven to declare them the "greatest Paralympic Games ever."[2][3]
A total of 503 events in 20 sports were held during the Games; events for athletes with intellectual disabilities (ID) returned to the Paralympic programme after being suspended following the 2000 Summer Paralympics, The Games were contested by a record 4,302 athletes representing 164 National Paralympic Committees, with 14 countries making their Paralympic debut. For the third Summer Paralympics in a row, China won the most medals overall, with a total of 231 (95 of them being gold), followed by Russia and Great Britain.
- ^ "Mandeville Legacy: Stoke Mandeville 1984". Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
guardian-massmarketwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Gibson, Owen (9 September 2012). "Paralympics closing ceremony review: an emotional and fiery finale". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 September 2012.