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108-559: The 2012 Summer Paralympics , branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games , were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London , England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Games as organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). These Games were the first Summer Paralympics to be hosted by London, and the first hosted solely by Great Britain;

216-637: A Royal Marine who lost both of his legs after stepping on a land mine on duty in Afghanistan , delivered the flame to Olympic Stadium via a zipline from the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower. He passed the flame to long-time British Five-a-side football captain David Clarke , who then passed it to the lighter of the Paralympic cauldron , Margaret Maughan , who was the winner of Britain's first gold medal at

324-589: A Golden Lion award at the Cannes Lions Festival in June 2013, losing the overall award to the railway safety PSA Dumb Ways to Die . Sir John Hegarty , the jury president said of it: "When you've got some really outstanding work it is tragic in some ways it can't get a bigger award, but there can only be one grand prix", while jury member Carlo Cavallone added "[Meet the Superhumans] is an amazing campaign, one of

432-463: A U.S. team represented by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the Empire Stadium. Only one modern pentathlon event was contested, the five component sports– riding, fencing, shooting, swimming, and running- being held over six days. Scoring was by point-for-place system across the five phases with the winner being the athlete with the lowest combined ranking. The sport's international federation,

540-611: A candidate for 1948. Great Britain almost handed the 1948 games to the United States due to post-war financial and rationing problems, but King George VI said that this could be the chance to restore Britain from World War II . The official report of the London Olympics shows that there was no case of London being pressed to run the Games against its will. It says: In June 1946 the IOC, through

648-569: A gold medal in Helsinki , won bronze in the team jumping event. Seven events were contested, six for men and one for women. Ilona Elek , who had won the women's foil competition in Berlin , was one of only two competitors to successfully defend an Olympic title in London. Elek's sister, Margit, placed sixth in the same event. Edoardo Mangiarotti won three medals, two silver and a bronze, having previously won

756-621: A gold medal in the 1936 Games. Throughout his career the Italian won 13 Olympic fencing medals and 27 world championship medals, both of which remain records. Thirteen nations participated in the field hockey competition. The tournament was ultimately won by India, who defeated Great Britain to claim the country's first gold medal as an independent nation under captain Kishan Lal and Vice-Captain Kunwar Digvijay Singh . Eighteen teams entered

864-410: A medal sport, appearing as an indoor competition for the first time after poor weather disrupted the matches at the 1936 Berlin Games . The event, for men only, was contested by 23 nations split into four pools for the preliminary round; the top two in each pool advanced to the quarterfinals with the other teams entering playoffs for the minor placings. The United States and France reached the final which

972-510: A member of the Hungary's world champion pistol shooting team in 1938 when a grenade shattered his right hand – his pistol hand. Takács taught himself to shoot with his left hand and, 10 years after his injury, he won an Olympic gold medal in the rapid-fire pistol event. Eleven events were contested, six for men and five for women. The United States won eight gold medals, including all six men's events, and 15 medals in total. Eighteen nations fielded

1080-463: A postal vote, gave the summer Games to London and the winter competition to St Moritz . London was selected ahead of Baltimore , Minneapolis , Lausanne , Los Angeles , and Philadelphia . London, which had previously hosted the 1908 Summer Olympics , became the second city to host the Olympics twice; Paris hosted the event in 1900 and 1924. London later became the first city to host the Olympics for

1188-558: A privet hedge featuring London landmarks such as Tower Bridge , The Gherkin and the London Eye . Cherisse Osei , drummer for Mika , and Sam Hegedus then performed, before the top of the bus folded up into its original form,sporting multi-coloured Paralympic livery. Both the Paralympic and Olympic flags were formally raised outside of London's City Hall on 26 September 2008. British Paralympians Helene Raynsford and Chris Holmes raised

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1296-504: A record 4,302 athletes representing 164 National Paralympic Committees , with 14 countries making their Paralympic debut. For the third Summer Paralympics in a row, China won the most medals overall, with a total of 231 (95 of them being gold), followed by Russia and Great Britain. As part of a formal agreement between the International Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee established in 2001,

1404-611: A reprise of " Paradise "). During their closing remarks, LOCOG chief Sebastian Coe and IPC president Philip Craven both congratulated London for its successful hosting of the Paralympics; Coe was proud that both the Olympics and Paralympics in London could be labelled " Made in Britain ", while Sir Phillip felt that the Games were the "greatest Paralympic Games ever." The Paralympic flag was handed over from Boris Johnson , Mayor of London to Eduardo Paes , Mayor of Rio de Janeiro , host of

1512-630: A selected group of athletes, rather than everybody, which was the case with the Olympic Games. The Soviets organized the first Spartakiad in 1920, a communist alternative to the 'bourgeois' Olympic Games, and in 1922 the University Olympia was organizedor in Italy , the forerunner of the World University Games , meant for students only. Regional games were another kind of multi-sport event that

1620-439: A series of six stamps with group portraits of Britain's medallists; however, the decision was met with backlash from critics, who argued that the organisation was discriminating against Paralympians by not granting them the same individual recognition as their Olympian counterparts. Olympic shadow minister Tessa Jowell was also critical of Royal Mail's plan, saying that the stamps were a symbolic aspect of Britain's celebration of

1728-460: A team in these games, which were ultimately won by Italy, who were undefeated throughout. The tournament was conducted in a mult-tier bracket, with the best four teams from the group stages participating in a final round-robin bracket. Silver was claimed by Hungary, and bronze by the Netherlands. Six events were contested, all for men only. These games marked the addition of the bantamweight class to

1836-667: A third time when the city hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics . Lord Burghley , a gold medal winner at the 1928 Olympics , member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and president of the Amateur Athletics Association was named Chairman of the Organising and Executive Committees. The other members of the committees were: Colonel Evan Hunter, General Secretary of the British Olympic Association , and Chief de mission for Great Britain; Lord Aberdare ,

1944-406: A total of 102 goals were scored; an average 5.66 goals per match. The joint top scorers with seven goals each were Gunnar Nordahl of Sweden and Denmark's John Hansen . Nordahl and Swedish teammates Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm went on to play for A.C. Milan and together were nicknamed Gre-No-Li . This was the first international football tournament ever to be broadcast on television, with

2052-522: The 1944 Olympic Games had been provisionally planned for London. This was the second time London hosted the Olympic Games, having previously hosted them in 1908 , making it the second city to host summer olympics twice (after Paris). The Olympics would return again to London 64 years later in 2012 , making London the first city to host the games thrice, and the only such city until Paris , who hosted their third games in 2024 , and Los Angeles , who will host theirs in 2028 . The 1948 Olympic Games were also

2160-489: The 1948 Olympics in London. Due to the fact that Parasports is a cultural factor of great impact in Great Britain, the organisers expected the Games to be the first Paralympics to achieve mass-market appeal, fuelled by continued enthusiasm over Great Britain's performance during the Olympics , awareness of Great Britain's role in the history of the Paralympics, the presence of the first global Paralympic star in history –

2268-470: The 2016 Summer Paralympics . Ellie Simmonds and Jonnie Peacock shared the honour of extinguishing the Paralympic cauldron, sharing its last flame on torches to others throughout the stadium to represent its eternal spirit. London 2012 had the largest number of athletes and participating nations of any Paralympic Games before. A total of 4,302 athletes from 164 countries competed in the Games. This represented an increase of 291 athletes and 18 countries from

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2376-528: The Antwerp Ceremony during the Olympics closing ceremonies . It featured urban dance group ZooNation, the Royal Ballet , and Candoco , a physically integrated dance group, all dressed as London commuters and waiting for a bus by a zebra crossing. A double-decker bus drove around the stadium, guided by Ade Adepitan , to music composed by Philip Sheppard . The top of the bus was open and folded down to show

2484-521: The Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948 , were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London , United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus caused by the outbreak of World War II , these were the first Summer Olympics held since the 1936 Games in Berlin . The 1940 Olympic Games had been scheduled for Tokyo and then for Helsinki , while

2592-644: The International Olympic Committee but appeared on the 1948 Official Report as springboard diving and highboard diving , respectively. All four gold medals, and 10 out of 12 awarded in total, were won by the United States. Victoria Manalo Draves , who won both gold medals in the women's events, and Sammy Lee , who took a gold and a bronze in the men's events, became the first Asian Americans to win gold medals at an Olympic Games. Six gold medals were awarded in equestrian, individual and team dressage , individual and team eventing and individual and team show jumping . Harry Llewellyn and Foxhunter , who would claim

2700-645: The London 2012 Olympic Legacy . England's role in the history of the Paralympics was emphasised as part of the Games: an event known as the Stoke Mandeville Games were hosted by the village of Stoke Mandeville —site of the National Spinal Injuries Centre —to coincide with the opening of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Contested between British veterans of the Second World War , it was

2808-520: The Royal Family , at 2.45 pm. Fifteen minutes later the competitors entered the stadium in a procession that took 50 minutes. The last team was that of the United Kingdom. When it had passed the saluting base, Lord Burghley began his welcome: After welcoming the athletes to two weeks of "keen but friendly rivalry", he said London represented a "warm flame of hope for a better understanding in

2916-485: The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne was founded during the Games, on 3 August 1948. Sweden won two medals in the event; William Grut won the gold, with a final points total of 16, and Gösta Gärdin took bronze. American George Moore won the silver medal. Seven rowing events were contested, all open to men only. Great Britain and the United States each claimed two gold medals. The events were held on

3024-645: The University of Cambridge with impressive Olympian good looks. Mark ran a lap of the track – created with cinders from the domestic coal fires of Leicester – and climbed the steps to the Olympic cauldron. After saluting the crowd, he turned and lit the flame. After more speeches, Donald Finlay of the British team (given his RAF rank of Wing Commander ) took the Olympic Oath on behalf of all competitors. The National Anthem

3132-707: The Wembley area instead of an Olympic Village , as were the 1936 Games and the subsequent 1952 Games in Helsinki. A record 59 nations were represented by 4,104 athletes, 3,714 men, and 390 women in 19 sport disciplines . Germany and Japan were not invited to participate in the games; the Soviet Union was invited but chose not to send any athletes, sending observers instead to prepare for the 1952 Olympics. Israel requested to participate (symbolically represented by Raya Bronstein and Frieda Berson-Lichtblau  [ he ] ) but

3240-408: The bank holiday weekend. On 28 August the four flames were united during a ceremony at Stoke Mandeville Stadium . The flame then travelled a 92-mile (148-kilometre) route to Olympic Stadium in a 24-hour relay, with 580 torchbearers working in teams of five. After a two-hour weather delay, a backup flame was taken straight to the stadium as a contingency, and the relay route was modified. However, as

3348-471: The decathlon , Bob Mathias of the United States became the youngest male ever to win an Olympic track and field gold medal at the age of seventeen. The most individual medals were won by Veikko Huhtanen of Finland, who took three golds, a silver and a bronze in men's gymnastics. The United States won the most gold and overall medals, having 300 athletes compared to the United Kingdom's 404. France fielded

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3456-625: The first official Paralympics , in Rome. The closing ceremony was held on 9 September at the Olympic Stadium. Entitled "The Festival of the Flame", the ceremony was themed around the gathering of people in celebration, and was directed by Kim Gavin , who also directed the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics just a few weeks prior. The artistic programme of the ceremony was set to live performances by

3564-676: The 2008 Games, which had 4,011 athletes from 146 countries. Fourteen countries made their Paralympic debut: Antigua and Barbuda , Brunei , Cameroon , Comoros , the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Djibouti , the Gambia , Guinea-Bissau , Liberia , Mozambique , North Korea , San Marino , the Solomon Islands and the US Virgin Islands . Trinidad and Tobago returned to the Games for

3672-490: The 2012 Summer Paralympics featured events in 20 sports. The number of events in each sport is noted in parentheses. Events for athletes with intellectual disabilities (ID class) returned to the Paralympics in athletics , swimming , and table tennis for the first time since 2000. ID events had been suspended following the 2000 Summer Paralympics , after the Spanish basketball team was stripped of their gold medals when it

3780-426: The 2012 Summer Paralympics were sold to local broadcasters by LOCOG, with production of the world feeds sub-contracted to Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS). The Games saw a significant growth in media coverage for the Paralympics; LOCOG reached deals with over 36 broadcasters to televise the Games in over 100 countries. LOCOG chief Sebastian Coe stated that "beyond how the commercial value of this package has raised

3888-466: The BBC's Television Newsreel programme do also still exist. The 1948 Summer Olympics featured 136 medal events, covering 23 disciplines in 17 different sports and in arts. In the list below, the number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses. These Games also included Lacrosse and Swedish (Ling) gymnastics as demonstration sports. Empire Stadium was the venue for 33 athletics events at

3996-493: The British rock band Coldplay . They were accompanied by guest performers such as the British Paraorchestra (who accompanied the band on " Strawberry Swing ", and also performed the Paralympic anthem), Barbadian singer Rihanna (who performed " We Found Love ", and her collaboration with Coldplay, " Princess of China ") and American rapper Jay-Z (who performed " Run This Town " with Rihanna and Coldplay, and joined in

4104-459: The English village of Stoke Mandeville co-hosted the 1984 Games with Long Island, New York after its original host, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign , withdrew due to financial issues. In 1948, the village hosted the Stoke Mandeville Games —the first organised sporting event for athletes with disabilities, and a precursor to the modern Paralympic Games—to coincide with the opening of

4212-545: The Games website during the Paralympics, which provided updates and advice for commuters during the Games. Prior to the Games, concerns were raised by TfL commissioner Peter Hendy that London's transportation system might not be able to handle the Paralympics adequately. He feared that the end of the school summer holiday (which fell during the Games) would result in increased traffic, and that commuters might not heed traffic warnings or change their travel behaviour as they had during

4320-479: The Games was watched by at least one viewer in the Channel Islands . The BBC's official report on the coverage estimated that an average of half a million viewers watched each of their Olympic broadcasts. The BBC paid £ 1,000 for the broadcasting rights. Of the live television coverage, only a small section of the opening ceremony broadcast still exists in the archives. However, various filmed reports shot for

4428-515: The Games; 24 for men and nine for women. Of these, four were making their Olympic debut – the men's 10 km walk, and the women's 200 metres, long jump and shot put. A total of 754 athletes from 53 countries participated in athletics. Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands, a 30-year-old mother of two children nicknamed "The Flying Housewife", won four gold medals, in the 100 metres, 200 metres, 80 metre high hurdles, and 4 x 100 metre relay. As world record holder in

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4536-501: The London 2012 logo. As it had done during the Olympics, Royal Mail honoured Britain's Paralympic gold medallists by painting a post box gold in each of their home towns (along with an additional post box outside the National Spinal Injuries Centre in Stoke Mandeville , in honour of its role in the Games' history), and featured them on commemorative stamps released throughout the Games. Royal Mail originally planned only to release

4644-704: The ODA dealt with infrastructure and venues. The Government Olympic Executive (GOE) within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) was the lead Government body for co-ordinating the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. The GOE reported through the DCMS Permanent Secretary to the Minister for Sports and the Olympics Hugh Robertson . It focused on oversight of the Games, cross-programme management and

4752-597: The Olympiade de la République in France in the 1800s. In the late 19th and early 20th century, athletes at multi-sport events were almost exclusively male. As international women's sport began to develop, events such as the Women's World Games and Olympics of Grace were held to allow women to engage in sport on the international stage. Though short-lived, events such as these led to greater inclusion of women at multi-sport events over

4860-764: The Olympic Flag at the Richmond Park camp at an opening ceremony in July as Minister of Works , Charles Key , declared the camp open. These were the first games to be held following the death of Pierre de Coubertin , founder of the International Olympic Committee , in 1937. They were also the last to include an arts competition , which took place at the Victoria and Albert Museum . Nicknamed "relay of peace" due to crossing through several countries in Europe to represent their union after

4968-413: The Olympic programme, the first change to the programme since 1920. The United States won four gold medals, and eight overall; the remaining two gold medals were claimed by Egypt. Rodney Wilkes won the first medal for Trinidad and Tobago in an Olympic games, winning silver and Mohammad Jafar Salmasi won the first medal for Iran in an Olympic games, winning bronze in the featherweight division; gold medal

5076-512: The Olympics alongside non-disabled athletes, and affordable prices. On 8 August, LOCOG announced that 2.1 million tickets had been sold (600,000 in the previous month alone), breaking the record of 1.8 million set in Beijing (1.6 million tickets were also distributed by the Chinese government). IPC president Philip Craven congratulated London for this achievement, crediting it to "the insatiable appetite

5184-405: The Olympics and that "it would be a shame if this important symbol was not offered to our Paralympian heroes as well." Royal Mail initially defended its decision, arguing that it would have been "logistically and practically impossible" to issue individual stamps for each gold medallist, since it expected the British team to meet or exceed its performance at Beijing of 42 gold medals. As a result of

5292-794: The Olympics became very popular nowadays. The number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing. The Paralympic Games is the largest multi-sport event involving athletes with physical disabilities and is organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Arranged for the first time in 1960 in Rome , Italy . The number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing. The first Special Olympics International Summer Games were held in Chicago , Illinois, in 1968. The most recent Special Olympics World Winter Games in Schladming, Austria involved 25 sports and approximately 2,277 athletes from 133 countries. At

5400-449: The Olympics. Sevenoaks railway station was designated as the preferred station for spectators travelling to watch the cycling at Brands Hatch . Organisers chose Sevenoaks over the closer Swanley railway station because of its "existing step-free access and excellent transport links", and because Swanley did not yet have a wheelchair lift . Whilst organisers did not believe that Swanley would be able to have wheelchair lifts installed by

5508-564: The Paralympic flag. On 8 September 2011 Trafalgar Square staged International Paralympic Day , hosted by Rick Edwards , Ade Adepitan and Iwan Thomas , to coincide with a visit to London by representatives of the IPC. The event featured showcases and demonstrations of the 20 sports that would feature during the Games, with some sessions also made inclusive to people with hearing disabilities. It also included appearances by Paralympic athletes Oscar Pistorius , Ellie Simmonds and Sascha Kindred , and

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5616-674: The Paralympics. Some older venues also contained additional accessible seating areas during the Paralympics. Transport for London (TfL) operated the Paralympic Route Network (a downsized version of the Olympic Route Network operated during the Summer Olympics) to facilitate road traffic between venues and facilities. The network provided 8.7 miles (14.0 kilometres) of lanes specifically reserved for Paralympic athletes and officials. TfL continued to operate its Get Ahead of

5724-713: The River Thames at Henley, over the same course as the Henley Royal Regatta . The sailing events at the Games took place in Torquay , in the southwest of Great Britain. Five events were contested, with the United States winning four total medals. One of host nation Great Britain's three gold medals at the Games came in the Swallow class from Stewart Morris and David Bond . In the Firefly class Danish sailor Paul Elvstrøm won gold

5832-470: The Second World War, the torch relay for these games took place from 17 to 29 July 1948, with a distance of 3,160 kilometres (1,960 mi) and 1,416 torchbearers. The torch was designed by Ralph Lavers. There were three types of torches: the standard one made of aluminum and powered by solid fuel , a special one powered by butane gas (used aboard HMS  Whitesand Bay ) and a third one used in

5940-457: The South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius (who had become the first double amputee to compete in the Summer Olympics alongside non-disabled athletes), and increasing media coverage and promotion of Paralympic sport (including the first developed major advertising campaign made by a local broadcaster ). The Games ultimately met these expectations, breaking records for ticket sales, heightening

6048-696: The TV Pool (a consortium of free-to-air broadcasters in Thailand consisting of Channel 3 , Channel 5 , BBTV Channel 7 , and Modernine TV ), and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to air coverage. The games were to be broadcast on television in the United Kingdom by Channel 4 , replacing long-time Paralympic broadcaster BBC in a £9 million deal; the BBC still held radio rights, with coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra . The IPC webcast approximately 780 hours of its coverage through its YouTube channel, with four streams of coverage in English and one in Spanish . Multi-sport event The Ancient Olympic Games , first held in 776 BC,

6156-467: The Wembley stadium, made of stainless steel and powered by a magnesium candle. The journey began with the lighting of the flame in Olympia . Due to the civil war in Greek soil , the Greek part of the relay went directly to Corfu , where HMS Whitesand Bay picked the flame to transport it to Bari . From there, the flame crossed Italy, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg and Belgium. After a boat trip from Calais to Dover (aboard of HMS  Bicester ),

6264-434: The bar financially for the Paralympic movement, the fantastic broadcast coverage we have agreed will help us take advantage of this opportunity to inspire disabled people of all ages to take up sport and be a catalyst for continued change in public attitudes towards disability." LOCOG reached deals with broadcasters such as China Central Television , the Korean Broadcasting System , NHK , Rede Globo and SporTV in Brazil ,

6372-472: The beginning of the 20th century, another multi-sport event, the Nordic Games were first held. These Games were held in Scandinavia , and the sports conducted were winter sports such as cross-country skiing and speed skating . The Nordic Games were last held in 1926, after which the 1924 Winter Sports Week in Chamonix was declared the first Olympic Winter Games . In the 1920s, all kinds of other multi-sport events were set up. These were usually directed for

6480-411: The cameras capturing aspects of the Games. Mandeville is named in honour of Stoke Mandeville due to its significance in the origins of the Paralympics. Mandeville also wears a helmet emblazoned in the red, green, and blue colours of the Paralympic emblem . The opening ceremony was held on 29 August at the Olympic Stadium. It was inspired by William Shakespeare 's play The Tempest and themed around

6588-418: The case of tandem cycling , where a visually-impaired rider takes the rear of the bike with a sighted pilot in front, only the visually-impaired rider actually received a medal. The official schedule was published on 25 August 2011. All dates are British Summer Time ( UTC+1 ) This table is based on the medal count of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The ranking is sorted primarily by

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6696-547: The competitive and "superhuman" aspects of Paralympic sport, while acknowledging the personal events and struggles that reflected every athlete's participation in the Games. Meet the Superhumans premiered on 17 July 2012, airing simultaneously on 78 different commercial television channels in the UK (which included rival commercial channels ITV and Sky1 ). The advert was met with critical acclaim: Adweek 's Tim Nudd declared it "the summer's most stunning sports commercial", while Simon Usborne of The Independent felt it

6804-510: The concept of "Enlightenment", with actors Ian McKellen and Nicola Miles-Wildin playing the roles of Prospero and Miranda . It featured appearances by theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking , and performances by British electronic music group Orbital , and the Graeae Theatre Company , who performed Ian Dury 's 1981 protest song " Spasticus Autisticus ". The final bearers of the Paralympic flame represented several generations of Paralympic athletes. "Future" Paralympic athlete Joe Townsend,

6912-483: The course of the 20th century. Although the modern tradition commemorates the 1921 revolution , the Naadam festival in Mongolia is a continuation of ancient sporting practises amongst Mongolians. The three events of wrestling, horse racing and archery are thought to date back centuries and represent the three most important pursuits of a strong man in nomadic society. Alongside these sporting events there are other cultural activities such as dances and parades. Since

7020-401: The criticism, Royal Mail announced on 15 August 2012 that it would release individual stamps for each British gold medallist during the Paralympics. Several Paralympics-specific events were held during the London Prepares series of test events for the Olympic and Paralympic Games; these included the London International Goalball Tournament, and the London Disability Grand Prix—which was also

7128-432: The despite the Danish Olympic Committee having misgivings about sending him to compete as the 18-year-old could speak no English. This was the first of four consecutive Olympics with a gold medal for Elvstrøm. Four events were contested, all open to both men and women, although all medals were won by men. In the 50 metre rifle, prone position, only two points separated the top three competitors. Károly Takács had been

7236-491: The distribution of 1,100 to members of London's youth athletics clubs. Due to popular demand, a further 100,000 contingency tickets were released on 6 September (which included multi-event passes, and event tickets given up by sponsors and partners), along with 100,000 giving access solely to the Olympic Park. The 2012 Summer Paralympics used an emblem sharing a common design with that of the Summer Olympics—the first time this had ever been done. The logo, designed by Wolff Olins ,

7344-410: The establishment of the Olympics, most serial multi-sport events have been organized for specific audiences and participating countries or communities. These affiliations include: The first modern multi-sport event organised were the Olympic Games, organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (est. 1894) for the first time in 1896 in Athens , Greece . After some celebrations (1900, 1904),

7452-415: The first Games for deaf athletes. The Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games , incepted in 1948 in England, were the first Games for wheelchair athletes. In 1960, the first Paralympic Games were held, connected with the Olympic Games . The Special Olympics World Games , for athletes with intellectual disabilities, were first held in 1968. 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics , officially

7560-575: The first Paralympic event to be held at London's Olympic Stadium. The Paralympic torch relay began on 22 August, when groups of integrated scouts kindled four Paralympic flames on the highest peaks of each Home Nation : Scafell Pike in England, Ben Nevis in Scotland, Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland, and Snowdon in Wales. On 24 August the four flames were used to light ceremonial cauldrons in London, Edinburgh , Belfast and Cardiff during special "Flame Festival" events; smaller "Flame Celebration" events were also held in various communities over

7668-420: The first ever sell-out in the history of the Paralympics; LOCOG's chief executive Paul Deighton remarked that "the interest in attending the Paralympics has been extraordinary from the start." This success was attributed to the enthusiasm surrounding Great Britain's performance during the Olympics , fan interest in South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius —who had become the first ever double amputee to compete in

7776-558: The first of two summer Games held under the IOC presidency of Sigfrid Edström . The 1948 Olympics came to be known as the "Austerity Games" due to the difficult economic climate and rationing imposed in the aftermath of World War II. No new venues were built for the games (with events taking place mainly at Wembley Stadium , also known as Empire Stadium, and the Empire Pool at Wembley Park ), and athletes were housed in existing accommodation at

7884-565: The first organised sporting event for athletes with disabilities, and served as a precursor to the modern Paralympic Games. The 2012 Summer Paralympics used many of the same venues as the 2012 Summer Olympics, along with two exclusive venues ( Eton Manor for wheelchair tennis and Brands Hatch circuit for road cycling. All the London's purpose-built Olympic venues and facilities, including the Olympic Village, were designed and planned to be accessible as possible so they could easily accommodate

7992-561: The first time since 1988. Andorra made its debut in the Summer Paralympics , having already made three appearances at the Winter Paralympics . Malawi , which would have been making its debut at the Games, and Botswana , were both due to send delegations but withdrew hours before the opening ceremony citing a lack of government funds. The following National Paralympic Committees sent delegations to compete: The programme of

8100-569: The first time that a women's canoeing event had been contested in the Olympics. Sweden won four gold medals (two by Gert Fredriksson ) and Czechoslovakia three. Six events were contested – two road bicycle racing events and four track cycling events. No women's cycling events were contested. France won three gold medals and Italy two, while Great Britain captured five medals overall, but none were gold. Four diving events were contested, two for men, and two for women. The events are labelled as 3  metre springboard and 10  metre platform by

8208-406: The first time. There were twenty of them—one for each Olympic sport and three separate pictograms for the arts competition, the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony. They were called "Olympic symbols" and intended for use on tickets. The background of each pictogram resembled an escutcheon . Olympic pictograms appeared again 16 years later, and were used at all subsequent Summer Olympics. At

8316-626: The flame traveled to several towns in Southeast England until the arrival at Wembley for the Opening ceremony. The cities and towns visited by the Olympic flame were as follows: The Games opened on 29 July. Army bands began playing at 2 pm for the 85,000 spectators in Empire Stadium at Wembley Park . The international and national organisers arrived at 2.35 pm and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth , with Queen Mary and other members of

8424-481: The football competition at these Olympics. Due to the rise of the professional game during the 12 years since the Berlin Olympics the number of talented amateurs for teams to select from was reduced. The gold medal was won by Sweden, who defeated Yugoslavia 3–1 in the final. Denmark defeated hosts Great Britain, managed by Matt Busby of Manchester United , 5–3 to win the bronze medal. In the tournament's 18 matches

8532-547: The golds that went through [the judging process] immediately ... Everyone felt it had the highest level of craft. It puts an issue that was really important before London 2012 to raise awareness of the Paralympics [and] they were hyper successful … Dumb Ways to Die was a tough contender." In August 2009, Royal Mail unveiled a series of 30 stamps (reflecting the 30th Olympiad) in honour of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, released in batches of ten between 2009 and July 2011. Each stamp featured an Olympic or Paralympic sport and

8640-471: The infamous slogan "Thanks for the warm-up ". As part of the campaign, Channel 4 produced a two-minute-long trailer for its coverage entitled Meet the Superhumans , which was directed by Tom Tagholm with input from Deborah Poulton, 2012 Paralympic Project Leader and Alison Walsh, Editorial Manager of Disability, both at Channel 4. The trailer, set to Public Enemy 's song " Harder Than You Think ", focused on

8748-460: The line for the bronze. The decathlon was won by 17-year-old Bob Mathias of the United States. He became the youngest ever Olympic gold medallist in athletics and when asked how he would celebrate he replied: "I'll start shaving, I guess." Categories: sports-related architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. These Olympics were the last time art competitions were considered Olympic events. Basketball made its second appearance as

8856-413: The long jump and high jump Blankers-Koen may have been able to win further medals but, at this time, female athletes were limited to three individual events. Duncan White won the first medal of any kind for Sri Lanka (then Ceylon ) when he finished second in the 400 metre hurdles. Arthur Wint became the first Jamaican to win an Olympic gold medal, in the men's 400 metres; he also won silver in

8964-403: The men's 800 metres. Audrey Patterson became the first African-American woman to win a medal, winning bronze in a track and field event. A few days later Alice Coachman became the first woman of colour in the world and the first African-American woman to win a gold medal in track and field in the history of the modern Olympics with a jump of 1.68 m (5' 6 1 ⁄ 4 "). She also

9072-507: The new local broadcaster of the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the United Kingdom—held a multi-platform advertising campaign to promote its coverage. The broadcaster sought to change the public perception of the Paralympics, encouraging viewers to see them as an "event in its own right", rather than as an afterthought to the Olympics. The campaign included television adverts, online content, and billboard advertising , some of which carrying

9180-399: The number of gold medals earned by a National Paralympic Committee (NPC). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically by IPC Country Code.   *    Host nation (Host nation (Great Britain)) References: Broadcast rights to

9288-555: The opening ceremony's parade of nations took longer than expected, the flame was able to reach the external area of Olympic Stadium in time. 2.7 million tickets were offered in total, including event-specific tickets and those granting access solely to the Olympic Park, along with multi-event passes offered for ExCeL London and Olympic Park that were intended to allow spectators to discover a variety of Paralympic events. Unlike previous Paralympics, tickets were in extremely high demand, and

9396-564: The other British member of the IOC; Sir Noel Curtis-Bennett ; Alderman H.E. Fern; E.J. Holt; J. Emrys Lloyd, who became the committee's legal advisor; C.B. Cowley of the London Press and Advertising; R.B. Studdert, managing director of the Army & Navy Stores ; A.E. Porritt , a member of the IOC for New Zealand who resided in London; S.F. Rous , Secretary of The Football Association ; and Jack Beresford . Olympic pictograms were introduced for

9504-408: The profile of the Paralympics in relation to the Olympics, and prompting IPC president Philip Craven to declare them the "greatest Paralympic Games ever." A total of 503 events in 20 sports were held during the Games; events for athletes with intellectual disabilities (ID) returned to the Paralympic programme after being suspended following the 2000 Summer Paralympics , The Games were contested by

9612-466: The public has for top class elite sport", and noted it would be fitting for a Paralympics held in its spiritual birthplace to have filled venues. By the opening ceremony, 2.4 million had been sold, with the remaining 100,000 sold during the Games; 10,000 were offered each day. The last 800 tickets to the Opening Ceremony were distributed to police and the military, while Mayor Boris Johnson arranged for

9720-405: The second largest team, with 316 athletes and finished third in the medal standings. The host nation ended up twelfth. In June 1939, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 1944 Olympic Summer Games to London, ahead of Rome , Detroit , Budapest , Lausanne , Helsinki , Montreal and Athens . World War II stopped the plans and the Games were cancelled so London again stood as

9828-474: The start of the Paralympics, the station finished their installation by early August 2012. The formal handover occurred during the closing ceremony of the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, when Mayor of London Boris Johnson received the Paralympic Flag from Mayor of Beijing Guo Jinlong . This was followed by a cultural presentation by Britain, which was a which was a sequel to the presentation during

9936-515: The ticket allocation was increased from the originally planned 2.5 million. Whilst the period during the Olympics has historically been the busiest for Paralympic sales, 1.4 million tickets were already sold before the start of the Summer Olympics, already surpassing the total number sold in Sydney. The high demand resulted in the Ticketmaster -operated website crashing under the load. Organisers expected

10044-707: The time of the Games, food, petrol and building were still subject to the rationing imposed during the war in Britain; because of this the 1948 Olympics came to be known as the " Austerity Games". Athletes were given the same increased rations as dockers and miners, 5,467 calories a day instead of the normal 2,600. Building an Olympic Village was deemed too expensive, and athletes were housed in existing accommodation. Male competitors stayed at RAF camps in Uxbridge and West Drayton , and an Army camp in Richmond Park ; female competitors in London colleges. Lord Burghley unfurled

10152-704: The total medals given. London was the first Olympics to have a political defection. Marie Provazníková , the 57-year-old Czechoslovak President of the International Gymnastics Federation , refused to return home, citing "lack of freedom" after the Czechoslovak coup in February led to the country's inclusion in the Soviet Bloc . For the 1948 Olympics, the Technicolor Corporation devised

10260-488: The two semi-finals, the bronze medal match and the final all being shown live in full by the BBC. Nine events were contested, eight for men, and one for women. In the men's pommel horse, a tie was declared between three competitors, all Finns, and no medals other than gold were awarded in this event. Finland won six gold medals overall, and Switzerland three. Lacrosse was an exhibition sport at these Olympics. An English team composed of players from various universities played

10368-613: The unveiling of a bronze statue of Pistorius by Ben Dearnley . British Prime Minister David Cameron and London's mayor Boris Johnson also appeared. Two days later on 10 September, supermarket chain Sainsbury's and Channel 4 presented Sainsbury's Super Saturday , a family event at Clapham Common . The event featured showcases of Paralympic sports, and a concert featuring pop music acts including Nicola Roberts , Olly Murs , The Wanted , Will Young , Pixie Lott , Dappy , Sugababes , The Saturdays , Chipmunk and Taio Cruz . Channel 4

10476-531: The winner of the bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics was also to host the 2012 Summer Paralympics. At the 117th IOC Session in Singapore, the rights to host the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were awarded to London. As with the Olympics, the 2012 Summer Paralympics were overseen by LOCOG and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). LOCOG was responsible for overseeing the staging of the games, while

10584-601: The world which has burned so low." At 4 pm, the time shown on the clock tower on the London Games symbol, the King declared the Games open, 2,500 pigeons were set free and the Olympic Flag raised to its 35 ft (11 m) flagpole at the end of the stadium. The Royal Horse Artillery sounded a 21-gun salute to welcome the last runner in the Torch Relay: John Mark , a British track and field sprinter and student at

10692-412: Was "an act of branding genius" and "a clear bid to bring the Paralympics from the sporting wings to centre stage." The advert was seen by an estimated audience of 10 million viewers; Channel 4's marketing and communications chief Dan Brooke estimated that reaction to the advert through social media was double that of the première of the BBC's trailer for its Olympics coverage. Meet the Superhumans won

10800-565: Was denied as the International Olympic Committee did not yet recognize the country, while the Olympic mandate of Palestine expired. This in turn shifted the view of the Arab countries who had intended to boycott the event and now decided to take part. One of the star performers at the 1948 Games was Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen . Dubbed the "Flying Housewife", the thirty-year-old mother of two won four gold medals in athletics. In

10908-728: Was established, such as the Far Eastern Championship Games (1913), the Central American and Caribbean Games (1926) or the Pan American Games (1951). The Olympic Games are still the largest multi-sport event in the world in terms of worldwide interest and importance (though no longer in participation), but several others also have significance. Other Games are intended for handicapped or disabled athletes. The International Silent Games , first held in Paris in 1924, were

11016-546: Was found that only 2 of their 12 team members actually had an intellectual disability. The IPC introduced a new procedure involving "sports intelligence" testing to better determine eligibility for the ID class. Also beginning in 2012, sighted guides became eligible to receive medals in certain events; sighted goalkeepers in 5-a-side football , along with guides and pilots in athletics and cycling and boccia assistants were now able to receive medals for their contributions. Previously in

11124-414: Was sung and the massed athletes turned and marched out of the stadium, led by Greece, tailed by Britain. The 580-page official report concluded: The opening ceremony and over 60 hours of Games coverage was broadcast live on BBC television , which was then officially available only in the London area. However, the BBC's transmissions could be received much further away in the right conditions, and some of

11232-450: Was the only American woman to win an athletics gold medal during the 1948 Olympics. The marathon saw a dramatic finish with the first man to enter the stadium, Etienne Gailly of Belgium, exhausted and nearly unable to run. While he was struggling, Argentinian athlete Delfo Cabrera and Tom Richards of Great Britain passed him, with Cabrera winning the gold medal and Richards obtaining the silver. Gailly managed to recover enough to cross

11340-754: Was the precursor to the Modern Olympic Games , although its first edition only featured a footrace and the number of sporting competitions expanded at later editions. There were several other "games" held in Europe in the classical era : Other multi-sport festivals emerged in the Middle Ages in Europe, including the Cotswold Olimpick Games in England in the 1600s, the Highland Games in Scotland , and

11448-588: Was unveiled on 4 June 2007, and is a representation of the number 2012. The Paralympic version has its own distinct colour scheme, and substitutes the Olympic Rings with the Paralympic "agitos" . The official mascot of the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games, Mandeville, was unveiled alongside its Olympic counterpart Wenlock on 19 May 2010. As characters, they are portrayed as drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton , and feature singular camera eyes —representing "focus"— with

11556-410: Was won by Egyptian Mahmoud Fayad , with a new Olympic and World record of 332.5 kg. Sixteen wrestling events were held, eight Greco-Roman and eight freestyle. All were open to men only. Both categories were dominated by two nations. Turkey was the most successful nation with six gold medals followed by Sweden receiving 5 gold medals. These two teams claimed 24 total medals, in other words half of

11664-568: Was won by the Americans 65–21 to claim the gold medal. This was the second of the United States' seven consecutive gold medals in Olympic men's and women's basketball. Brazil defeated Mexico 52–47 to claim bronze. Eight different classifications were contested ranging from flyweight , for boxers weighing less than 51 kg, to heavyweight , for boxers over 80 kg. South Africa, Argentina and Hungary each won two gold medals. Nine events were contested, eight for men and one for women. This marked

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