A total of 1,513 female athletes will compete across 18 sports, which is more than double the 700 female athletes who took part in the Barcelona 1992 Games two decades ago.

At the Atlanta 1996 Games, 790 female athletes took part, followed by 990 at Sydney 2000, 1,165 at Athens 2004 and 1,383 at Beijing 2008.

Sir Philip Craven, IPC President, said: ‘The Paralympic Movement has made great strides in recent years in regards to the inclusion of female athletes. This has allowed for greater gender equity and a fair chance for anyone to compete in Paralympic sport at the most elite level.’

A record 4,200 athletes from 166 countries will compete at London 2012 Paralympic Games. So far more than 2.1 million tickets have been sold, and a further 400,000 are expected to go on sale before the Games start.