Paralympics audience increases
LONDON 2012 chairman Lord Coe has welcomed the fact that the Paralympics will be shown in more countries than all previous editions of the showpiece.
The Games, which get underway with tonight’s opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, will be screened in more than 100 countries, encompassing Latin America, Pakistan, the United States and Iran.
Coe said: “It’s fantastic to know that billions of people around the world will have the opportunity to watch. The deals we have signed are a testament to how great Paralympic sport is. People watching the action on TV will get to see some incredible sport by incredible athletes.”
London 2012 organisers have sold all but 100,000 of the 2.5m tickets for the Paralympics, with the remainder set to be gradually released at a rate of 10,000 per day.
OPENING CEREMONY
The Team GB flag will be carried by wheelchair tennis player Peter Norfolk, who will be aiming to win his third quad singles title in a row
The ceremony will be overseen by award-winning film director Stephen Daldry, of Billy Elliot fame, and will include over 3,000 adult volunteers, including several recovering soldiers, and a large number of professionals
The ceremony will commence with a spectacular fly past centred on the theme of enlightenment by Aerobility, a British charity that trains disabled people to become pilots