To celebrate five years to go to the start of the Paralympic Games, the London 2012 Roadshow is visiting Stoke Mandeville Stadium, home of British wheelchair sport on the final date of its successful summer tour. 

 

Planning for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is integrated for the first time for a Summer Games, providing an outstanding sporting experience for athletes from all backgrounds and a memorable legacy for Paralympic sport in the UK.

 

A firm commitment to improving sports participation through the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has also been included for the first time.

 

Last year, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) approved the Paralympic venue plan and there have been productive discussions between the London 2012 Organising Committee, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the IPC which resulted in an integrated version of the master schedule – a prime project management tool.

 

The London 2012 Organising Committee is the first Organising Committee to base the Olympic and Paralympic logos around the same core emblem. 

 

The London 2012 website has also been relaunched, with more Paralympic branding and content, setting new standards of visibility for the Paralympic Movement.

 

Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee, said: “In coming to Stoke Mandeville, London is paying homage to the roots of the Paralympic Movement and catching the true spirit of Paralympic Games. 

 

"Britain is the birth place of Paralympic Sport and the world can look forward to great things in 2012 as a result. I am very pleased with the progress London is making on its plans to date."

 

Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, said: “The Paralympic Games is one of the world’s most exciting and inspiring sporting events for elite athletes, and we want to ensure that our Games in London are the best ever.

 

"We want to set new standards on and off the track, and be a catalyst for continued change for public attitudes towards disability.

 

"Our use of the same core emblem for both the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is part of this process.

 

“The Paralympic Games will be a huge festival of sport with the whole of the world watching events including; Boccia, Goalball, Wheelchair Tennis and Wheelchair Rugby. 

 

"The Games will leave a memorable Paralympic sports legacy including a physical legacy in new tennis facilities in the north of the Olympic Park. 

 

"London 2012 will provide a compact and inclusive Paralympic Games with high quality accessible venues, transport services and excellent Village facilities for athletes as well as for team and technical officials.” 

 

Tessa Jowell, the Minister with responsibility for the Paralympic Games, said: “In exactly five years time London’s Paralympic Games will begin and so it is entirely fitting that today the 2012 Roadshow visits Stoke Mandeville, the place where Paralympic sport really began. 

 

"Winning the right to host the 2012 Games has given us an extraordinary opportunity to transform sport in the UK – for both the able-bodied and those with disabilities. 

 

"The Paralympics are an integral part of all our preparations and our ambition for an enduring legacy, and I am determined that London 2012 sets new standards for services, facilities and opportunities for disabled people.”

 

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone said: “The London 2012 Paralympic Games will be a spectacular showcase for London’s rich diversity and passion for sport. With five years to go we are well advanced with our preparations to stage the greatest ever Paralympic Games and look forward to cheering on our Paralympians as they go for gold in 2012.”

 

British Paralympic Association President and London 2012 board member Mike Brace, said: “Today marks an important milestone in our journey to the London 2012 Paralympic Games and it’s appropriate that we should mark the occasion at Stoke Mandeville, the venue for the first international competition for athletes with a disability in 1948.

 

“We are planning to host the best ever Paralympic Games in London in 2012 and welcome the opportunity to provide the stage for a display of outstanding ability in Paralympic sport from the world’s best.”

 

Tanni Grey Thompson, Britain’s greatest Paralympian said: “In five years time London will be buzzing with excitement about the start of the Paralympic Games. 

 

"London will put on a great event, and also ensure that a lasting sporting legacy is left for people with a disability. 

 

"I want the London 2012 Paralympic Games to be a catalyst for a change in people’s attitudes about disability. 

 

"This is not just about a two week period of time, it is about a whole culture change to inspire people. 

 

"I look forward to being at the opening ceremony in 2012.”

 

The bulk of London’s Paralympic competition venues are set in two zones - the Olympic Park Zone and the River Zone. 

 

The two zones are within 15 minutes of each other, leading to one of the most compact Games ever, minimising travel times and disruption for Paralympians.

 

Significant progress has been made this year on the development of the Olympic Park and the Athletes’ Village.

 

All Paralympic athletes will be housed within the Athletes’ Village set within the Olympic Park which has been designed to be fully accessible and will be built to the national ‘Life Times Home’  standard.

 

The village is an example of the very best of inclusive design. Paralympic sailors and rowers will have accommodation close to their competition venues in Weymouth and Eton Dorney but will also have a bed available within the village if required.   

 

Outside the two zones, road cycling will take place in Regent’s Park in central London, the new sport of adaptive rowing in Eton Dorney, which hosted the successful rowing world championships in August 2006, and sailing at Weymouth and Portland.