ten years later, can the Paralympic Games in London still show the way?

A separate edition. On this Sunday, September 9, 2012, fireworks light up the sky in Stratford, in the eastern suburbs of the English capital. Ten years ago to the day, inside the brand new Olympic stadium, we celebrated the end of the Paralympic Games in London, a 15th edition that was significant in more ways than one.

After the parade of athletes, the tables follow one another until a momentum. To the sounds of drums, scattered here and there on the lawn, two mobile sailboats burst into the center of the field, transformed for the occasion into a theater. On one of the ships, the singer from Barbados, Rihanna, reveals herself. Under the cheers of the crowd, she then accompanies Chris Martin, the leader of the group Coldplay, on the song “Princess of China”. A few minutes later, the two stars are joined by rapper Jay-Z, another star of international rank, who has come to join the party.

Ten years later, quadruple Paralympic judo medalist (visually impaired category) Sandrine Martinet still remembers this closing ceremony. “It was incredible, a moment engraved forever. To have such celebrities to conclude the Games, it was a strong message”, she adds. All the more so since long before its conclusion, London 2012 had set the tone for a special edition. So much so that even today, the event serves as a tipping point in the world of parasport.

First disabled skipper (he was born without a left hand) to have completed the Vendée Globe in 2021, Damien Seguin was the flag bearer of the tricolor delegation during the opening ceremony. He experienced firsthand this unprecedented craze in the British capital. “The most striking thing was the people who were mobilized to come and see the athletes in the stadiums, swimming pools etc.”he recalls. “There were volunteers almost everywhere in the city to refer people, we really felt that a step had been taken in the quality of organization”specifies the one who participated in four editions of the Paralympic Games, from 2004 to 2016 (for two titles and a silver medal).

For Sandrine Martinet too, the atmosphere that reigned in London was out of all proportion to her previous experiences. “We felt a kind of emulation which meant that we had to talk about ourselves. The public was much more knowledgeable about the different disciplines, the sportsmen and women … mentalities begin to evolveshe adds.

“These have been, quite simply, amazing Paralympic Games”.

The London 2012 Paralympic Games legacy lives on, ten years on. #London2012 #Paralympics #TenYearsAnniversary pic.twitter.com/FPvLs1I3yu

— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 29, 2022

Behind the scenes, many people have worked for the British candidacy, and that since 2002. Quickly, the objective of offering a new face to the Paralympic Games is put forward. “What was unique is that the Organizing Committee understood very quickly that this event could be promising”explains Lambis Konstantinidis, director of planning and coordination at the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee and who has worked on most of the latest editions. “The Paralympic Games were not seen as an appendix in the contracts behind the Olympics, it was something on which he (the committee) wanted to invest in repositioning it as a major planetary event.”

At the head of the London 2012 teams as director of integration, Chris Holmes had the cap of the great organizer. Under his leadership, a single Organizing Committee, working for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, was created. A weighty argument which, in his opinion, contributed to the success of this edition. “I didn’t want us to just have a slight increase in broadcast, in the number of spectators… We had all the cards in hand to create a whole new Paralympic paradigm”, explains the nine-time Paralympic swimming champion (visually impaired category). No more free tickets – “parasport has value” – and welcome to the historic sponsors of the Olympic Games in the Paralympic fold.

Another strong argument: the full commitment of Channel 4 alongside the Organizing Committee. “One of the biggest deals made in 2012”, says Chris Holmes. Thanks to the support of the public service channel and an XXL promotional campaign, the mobilization of the British public will be there. Advertisements plastered all over the city – “meet the superheroes” – will have their small effect.

“Forget everything you thought you knew about strength”

On this day, TEN years ago, @Channel4 premiered its ground-breaking London 2012 @Paralympics campaignMeet the Superhumans. pic.twitter.com/fGXSKAkv0b

— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) July 17, 2022

For Charlotte Fairbank, a wheelchair tennis player who played in her first Games in Tokyo last summer, London has above all brought a new perspective on parasport. “We had the feeling that Paralympic athletes were finally seen as real athletes, that people realized that it’s as hard to reach the top level as it is for the able-bodied.”

It is this change of mentality which evolved with the Games and which, according to her, structured the question of accessibility in the capital. “People said to themselves: ‘ok, people with disabilities can be independent and can do everything’, so we are going to make this city as accessible as possible so that these people keep this independence”.

With most of its Olympic venues built from scratch, London 2012 was able to integrate best practices on the accessibility of sports facilities. At the same time, the South Bank district, located on the south bank of the Thames, around Waterloo station, has been greatly modified. “We have set up an improvement project to make all these physical spaces accessible and inclusive, whether they are shops but also cafes or cultural institutions. (Southbank Centre, the National Theatre…)“, adds Chris Holmes. The Stratford district, one of the poorest in the British capital, has also been considerably developed.

According to the President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Andrew Parsons, more than one million additional hirings of people with disabilities took place after the Paralympic Games in the United Kingdom. A social and societal progress that France hopes to benefit from in 2024.

“We must not underestimate the scale of the challenge that awaits Paris in two years”

Chris Holmes

at franceinfo: sport

This heritage dimension was quickly established as one of the priorities on the part of Tony Estanguet and the Cojo, but the results will, in any case, be difficult to assess in the short term. The challenge for parasport and the athletes lies elsewhere for Damien Seguin. “For a few years, we have been talking about it a little more, but the media coverage remains quite marginal, a little bit like women’s sport was a few years ago. I have the impression that we are following the same curve, things will improve and we need symbolic moments, like London 2012 was. And, as I hope, Paris will be.”

The first milestones have been laid, with the reunion of Olympic and Paralympic athletes within a single French team, with the sharing of the same emblem… An unprecedented desire for unity which illustrates the evolution consideration of parasport. “If we compare the values ​​of the French Republic and those of the Paralympic movement, we find one in common: equality”raises, observer, Chris Holmes. “It would be a wonderful connection to bring that to life. That’s also what makes me say yes, Paris also unquestionably has a lot more pressure on their shoulders.”