Six years to go to the start of London 2012 Paralympic Games

The London 2012 Paralympic Games will run from Wednesday 29 August through to Sunday 9 September. The Paralympic Games are the second largest multi-sport event in the world. There will be 20 sports, 4,500 athletes and 2,300 officials taking part and 1.5 million tickets for sale.

Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, said: "29 August 2012 will be a great day in the history of sport for people with a disability in the UK. We won our bid as one bid, for both the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The Paralympic Games and the Paralympic Movement began in the UK and have a special place in the history and development of sport in this country. Our vision for the London 2012 Paralympic Games is to set new standards for services, facilities and opportunities for people who play sport with a disability. London will host the best ever Paralympic Games in 2012, and ensure that a lasting legacy is left for sport for people with a disability."

Tessa Jowell, the cabinet minister with responsibility for the Olympic Games and Paralympics Games said: " People with a disability can be part of 2012 in as many ways as able-bodied people, whether watching, volunteering, getting business or work, or even competing in the Paralympic Games itself. London 2012 is not for one group of people, but for all of us."

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, said: "The London 2012 Paralympic Games will complete a fantastic summer of sport staged in the world's greatest city for embracing and celebrating diversity at every level. That is why the world's Paralympic elite athletes will receive the warmest of welcomes from Londoners and enthusiastic support from the crowds throughout the Games as they compete for glory."

Mike Brace, Chairman of the British Paralympic Association, said: "This will be a fantastic celebration of Paralympic sport in the United Kingdom. We will put on the best Paralympic Games ever and we are all working towards making that happen. We look forward to welcoming Paralympians back home to the UK in 2012."

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For further information, contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or Fran Edwards on 07786 437249.

The London 2012 Paralympic Games key facts and figures

• The London Organising Committee, responsible for the staging of the Games, is integrating and coordinating all planning for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. It is the first Organising Committee to integrate planning for the Games in this way.
• The Olympic Delivery Authority, responsible for building the infrastructure for the Games, will ensure all Olympic venues are fully accessible and that transport upgrades to London's transport infrastructure can provide fully accessible transport options for all Games venues.
• The focus will be on an athlete-centred Paralympic Games, based on a "compact" approach with eleven events within the main Olympic Park in Stratford - athletics, swimming, table tennis, wheelchair rugby, goalball, wheelchair fencing, archery, seven-a-side and five-a-side football, cycling (track) and wheelchair tennis.
• In addition to this, powerlifting, judo, wheelchair basketball, boccia, sitting volleyball will all take place at the nearby ExCeL Centre, equestrian events at Greenwich Park and shooting at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
• All these venues are less than 15 minutes away from the Olympic Park making travelling between venues easy and convenient for competitors and spectators. As a result, 95% of athletes will be within 15 minutes of their venue.
• All Paralympic athletes, except for sailors and rowers, will be housed within the athletes' village set within the Olympic Park which has been designed to be fully accessible from the outset.
• Paralympic sailors and rowers will have accommodation close to their competition venues (Weymouth and Eton Dorney) but will also have a bed available within the village if required. This is the first athletes' village that will not require any accommodation conversion following on from the Olympic Games.
• London 2012 is determined to ensure a Paralympic legacy in terms of venue design and creating a new model of good practice in relation to inclusivity.
• There will be an inclusive transportation system for both Games, and building on existing accessible transport. A fleet of fully accessible, environmentally-friendly vehicles will serve the transport needs of all athletes and officials with a disability.
• All spectators will travel to venues by fully accessible public transport which will be included within the price of spectator tickets. The Jubilee Line and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) the two most important lines serving the Olympic Park and ExCeL provide easy access for people with a disability. The DLR is already 100% accessible, as are all Jubilee Line stations from Westminster eastward.
• In addition, a number of London Underground stations will be fully wheelchair accessible by 2012. All London's buses will are accessible, and there will be audible and visual customer information on the Underground and suburban rail systems.
• London's 21,000 black cabs will be able to accommodate people in wheelchairs.
• A Games Mobility Service will be created. This service was used at the Manchester Commonwealth Games and means that spectators with a disability and other participants in the Games will be offered a Games-wide free service which enables them to book a ticket for a guaranteed accessible location, and arrangements can be made to provide a personal guide to the event. There will be trained staff running the service and other help available such as the loan of equipment wheelchairs and sticks.
• The London 2012 Paralympic Games have been scheduled to start on a Wednesday to enable two full weekends of action. The day after the Opening Ceremony, Thursday 30th August, has been scheduled as "Paralympic Day", where spectators will be encouraged to try out Paralympic sports and watch athletes train. There will also be cultural performing arts events taking place and the day will be a celebration of Paralympism.
• The Paralympic Torch Relay will travel through major UK towns and cities en route to the Opening Ceremony. There will also be an accompanying cultural festival with concerts and street festivals taking place throughout the UK to bridge the gap between the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
• The Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony will be a spectacular ceremony featuring the best of British art and entertainment and will be a celebration of sports and arts for the disabled.
• Britain was number two in the Paralympic medal table in Athens in 2004 and Sydney in 2000 It is the aim of the British team to top the medal table in 2012 and to inspire a new generation of young athletes with a disability to get involved in sport.
• There will be a wide range of accessible accommodation available for spectators ranging from five-star hotels to affordable student and bed and breakfast accommodation. The Paralympic media community will be in fully accessible hotels in Bloomsbury, and there will also be accommodation near to the International Broadcast Centre/Main Press Centre in the Olympic Park, and close to the ExCeL centre.