2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, TV coverage
The ceremony was recorded by three separate broadcasters: the BBC, the Olympic Broadcasting Services (directed by the Finnish state broadcaster YLE on behalf of the OBS), and by independent production company Done and Dusted, hired by LOCOG and working under Boyle's direction. This was the first time that an independent production company had been used for an Olympic ceremony. This situation led to some tension, as Boyle wanted more artistic control and felt he was getting no co-operation from the OBS. He criticised the OBS coverage during his commentary for the BBC DVD. In addition, the BBC filmed some of the pre-recorded parts of the ceremony. The filming was directed for television by Hamish Hamilton, who described it as "easily the most difficult job of my life".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, TV coverage
The BBC released footage of the entire ceremony on 29 October 2012, edited by Danny Boyle and with background extras, filling more than one disc of a five DVD or Blu-ray disc set, which also contained more than seven hours of sporting highlights as well as the complete closing ceremony. A 'BBC commentary-free' option for the opening ceremony is available on the DVD, as well as a commentary track by Danny Boyle and Frank Cottrell-Boyce. In contrast the NBC DVD only has highlights of the opening ceremony.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
The Times described the ceremony as "a masterpiece", with The Daily Telegraph saying it was "brilliant, breathtaking, bonkers and utterly British". The BBC's chief sports writer Tom Fordyce called it "eccentric" and "tongue-in-cheek", saying "no-one expected ... it would be quite so gloriously daft, so cynicism-squashingly charming and, well, so much pinch-yourself fun."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
Two weeks after the ceremony Jonathan Freedland of The Guardian wrote that "Boyle's spectacular, so beautifully executed and ingeniously conceived it lingers in the mind even as the closing draws near, stood apart from its predecessors thanks not only to its humour and eccentricity, but also because it had something to say." Writing in The Observer, Jackie Kay commented that "it seemed that Boyle had invented a new kind of opening ceremony, a concept ceremony, one that embraces big ideas as passionately as it does technical flamboyancy". The Stage said that "Danny Boyle's spectacular and moving Olympics Opening Ceremony was undoubtedly the theatrical highlight of 2012".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
"Maybe you shouldn't have been able to interpret it that much, because it was about wonder. The theme of the show was to take things that we're very familiar with, and make them seem again wonderful to us: the things that you know about the industrial revolution and the internet, and say 'Aren't these things astonishing, that we live in the middle of?' and to kind of re-polish the pattern of life. So maybe it's alright that you were a little bit bewildered."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
Frank Cottrell-Boyce on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, 28 July 2012.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
Although praise came from across the political spectrum, a few on the British political right were unhappy. Aidan Burley, a Conservative MP, denounced the ceremony on Twitter as "leftie multicultural crap". Burley's comments were dismissed by many fellow Conservatives, including David Cameron and Boris Johnson.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
Foreign reaction was overwhelmingly positive. The New York Times said the ceremony was "hilariously quirky ... a wild jumble of the celebratory and the fanciful; the conventional and the eccentric; and the frankly off-the-wall." Forbes called it Boyle's "love song to Britain", while Sports Illustrated noted its political aspects, calling it "a celebration of protest and dissent". The Sydney Morning Herald said it was "an unforgettable start ... at once subversive and sublime" and The Times of India said "London presented a vibrant picture of Great Britain's rich heritage and culture."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
The Chinese news agency Xinhua described the ceremony as "dazzling" and an "eccentric and exuberant celebration of British history, art and culture". Chinese artist Ai Weiwei praised the ceremony for its "human touch", saying "In London, they really turned the ceremony into a party ... such a density of information about events and stories and literature and music; about folktales and movies."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
Russian President Putin said the ceremony was "wonderful and unforgettable". Dmitry Medvedev said "It was an exceptional spectacle, very well prepared and quite rich ... it succeeded in creating a very British atmosphere ... they managed to find the right language ... to communicate." Panos Samaras of Greece's NET said "it was more like a big musical, a rock opera ... than an Olympics ceremony". French sports newspaper L'Équipe wrote that it "took the classic from such events and had fun with them" whilst Le Parisien said it "was magnificent, inventive and offbeat drawing heavily on the roots of British identity". Germany's Die Welt hailed it as "spectacular, glitzy but also provoking and moving".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
Chinese news CCTV-4 said the ceremony was a "stunning feast for the eyes". South Korea's Yonhap said it was "by turns dramatic, imaginative, humorous and solemn" and "weaved the story of the country's past, present and future". Singapore's Straits Times said it was a "grand show" noteworthy for both "scale" and "authenticity". The Australian praised a "glorious pandemonium devoted to London's thriving, chaotic energy ... deliberately revelling in the chaos of Britain's free society and popular culture".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
France's Le Figaro said it reflected "the best contributions that Britain has given to the world ... its sense of humour, its music, and of course sport". The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said it was a "rocking, rollicking, sometimes quiet and brooding ceremony." Qatar's The Peninsula said London did a "spectacular job" making the ceremony a "memorable event".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
In an end of the year review, British magazine Q said "It could all have been so different. As the London 2012 Summer Olympics approached, the tide of scepticism seemed almost irreversible. There was the heavy-handed sponsorship, the draconian security, the ticketing problems, the ballooning budget, and the lurking fear that the Opening Ceremony might be, in director Danny Boyle's pungent description, 'shite'. It took less than four hours on the night of Friday 27 July to turn the whole country around. Not only was the ceremony demonstrably not shite, it was the most surprising, moving, spectacular cultural event this country had ever seen...modern Britain, in all its berserk, multi-faceted glory."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
The writer of the ceremony, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, said: "People around us thought it might need defending, so I was told to do press the next morning. I was completely surprised [by the positive response]. A lot of people were surprised. But I don't think Danny was surprised. Danny never blinked. At no point did he show any feeling that it was going to be anything but amazing. And he was right."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
In December 2012 the culture critic of The Guardian picked the ceremony as "best art event of the year". A British public survey by Samsung voted it the second most inspiring television moment of all time, second only to the 1969 moon landing. A Digital Spy survey of more than 25,000 overwhelmingly voted the ceremony as the entertainment highlight of 2012. The ceremony was the second most-mentioned entertainment event on the internet in 2012, with just over 6 million mentions, coming second to the Grammy Awards. The BBC reported that it was the most requested item from 2012 on its iPlayer on-demand service, with 3.3 million requests.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Reception
Boyle was offered a knighthood in late 2012, but turned it down, saying "I'm very proud to be an equal citizen and I think that's what the Opening Ceremony was actually about."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Legacy
The ceremony was identified by some commentators as precipitating a new mood in the United Kingdom: it "had barely finished before it had become a byword for a new approach, not only to British culture but to Britishness itself. Politicians would soon be referring to it, using it as shorthand for a new kind of patriotism that does not lament a vanished Britain but loves the country that has changed. Boyle's ceremony was hailed from (almost) all sides...for providing a nation that had grown used to mocking its myriad flaws with a new, unfamiliarly positive view of itself ...


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Legacy
It was, perhaps, this lack of cynicism that people responded to ... So used to British irony and detachment, it felt refreshing to witness an unembarrassed, positive case for this country. Boyle himself says this was the most important thing he took away from the Olympic experience: "How important it is to believe in something. You might make a fool of yourself and people will go, 'How can you believe in that, you stupid idiot?' But if you believe in something, you carry people with you."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Legacy
Business leaders also took inspiration from the event, admiring its risk-taking and creative freedom, as well as the trust placed in and loyalty inspired from the workers and volunteers.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Legacy
In February 2013 the BBC's Head of Drama Ben Stephenson told an audience of writers, commissioners and producers that he "wanted them to seek inspiration from the opening ceremony of the London Olympics" which, he said, "had scale and brilliance and, above all, had succeeded not in spite of its Britishness but because of its Britishness, delighting viewers here and around the world by rooting itself in the authentic stories and spirit of these islands." Steve Coogan told Frank Cottrell-Boyce that he felt it was "like the emperor's new clothes in reverse ... it made irony and postmodernism feel tired and past its sell-by date", and Russell T Davies told Boyce: "It changed my idea of the possible."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Legacy
Reviewing the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony at Sochi, Russia, Owen Gibson of The Guardian observed that with his 'complex, intimate snapshot of "who we were, who we are and who we wish to be"', Boyle “rewrote the rule book for opening ceremonies”.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay
The 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from 19 May until 27 July, prior to the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The torch bearer selection process was announced on 18 May 2011.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay
As well as touring the United Kingdom the schedule included the three crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, and also the Republic of Ireland.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Organization
The traditional lighting ceremony took place on 10 May at the Temple of Hera, Olympia, home of the Ancient Olympic Games. The torch travelled around Greece, arriving at the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens on 17 May for the handover ceremony.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Organization
The UK torch relay lasted 70 days, with 66 evening celebrations. About 8,000 people carried the torch a total distance of about 8,000 miles (12,800 km), starting from Land's End in Cornwall. The route was widely reported as designed in such a way as to ensure that the Torch came within 10 miles of 95% of the UK population. A wide range of people carried the torch around the country, mostly sports men and women, military figures and other local heroes from towns and cities across the UK.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Organization
A number of celebrities also held the flame on its journey, including Matt Smith, Patrick Stewart, Jamie Oliver, Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders (jointly), Rupert Grint, James McAvoy, Mel C, boy band The Wanted, dance troupe and Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity and Sir Bruce Forsyth. The torch had a day outside of the United Kingdom in Dublin on 6 June (as well as visits to the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man). The relay focused on national heritage sites, locations with sporting significance, key sporting events, schools registered with the Get Set School Network, green spaces, biodiversity, 'Live Sites' (locations with large screens), local festivals, and other events.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Organization
Following a three-month tour by LOCOG, local authorities submitted ideas to regional government and LOCOG by May 2010. However some counties such as Somerset declined to put forward ideas citing potential costs of up to £300,000.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Organization
The start date for the Relay was announced on 26 May 2010, as were the three presenting partners: Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. The nomination campaign for torchbearers was announced on 18 May 2011 and called 'Moment to Shine'.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Organization, Journey to the UK
On 16 May a British Airways Airbus A319, with custom gold livery and named "The Firefly", flew from Heathrow to Athens to collect the flame. On 18 May the aircraft flew as flight BA2012 from Athens to RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall. The flame was not extinguished during flight, having been classified as a 'ceremonial flame' by the Civil Aviation Authority, but was kept in four Davy lamps secured in a cradle firmly fixed to seats in Row 1. There was enough smokeless fuel to last 30 hours.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Organization, Journey to the UK
The Princess Royal, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Lord Coe, and David Beckham were among 80 invited guests, along with a group of teenagers: rugby player Dennis Coles from East Ayrshire representing Scotland, hockey player Chloe Brown from Bangor representing Northern Ireland, athlete Sean White from Swansea representing Wales, hockey player Georgia Higgs from Cornwall, and Sakinah Muhammad from Hackney representing London.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Organization, Journey to the UK
After an overnight stay at RNAS Culdrose, members of 771 Naval Air Squadron took the Flame to Land's End by Sea King helicopter. There the Olympic Cauldron was lit. Olympic sailing star Ben Ainslie ran the first leg of the relay.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, The Torches
In the summer of 2010, the Design Council were commissioned to prepare the design brief and begin the search for a design for the Torch and related relay artifacts. With more than 800 designers interested in the project, a short list of 22 was presented to Locog. 6 were selected to present designs the selection being made a few months later. The winning design came from Barber Osgerby, led by Edward Barder and Jay Osgerby.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, The Torches
Their design of the 2012 Olympic Torches was made of two aluminium alloy skin, perforated by 8,000 holes to represent the 8,000 torchbearers who would carry the flame. Technically the holes also helped to dissipate heat without it being conducted down the handle, and provided extra grip.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, The Torches
The gold of the torches represented the qualities of the Olympic flame – brightness and warmth. The torch stands 80 centimetres (31 in) high, weighing 800 grams (1.8 lb). To realise this award-winning design, TECOSIM (an engineering company) was responsible for the research, engineering and technical development of the torch and associated relay items including the celebration cauldrons. Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) was used to simulate various scenarios that the torch might encounter during the relay, from environmental conditions to physical damage.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, The Torches
Torch bearer safety was of prime importance at all times, so TECOSIM completed rigorous physical testing to validate the design. It was tested to withstand all likely weather conditions, from high winds to rain and snow at altitude utilizing the BMW Climatic Windtunnel in Munich as well as in field-testing. Production of the torches started towards the end of 2011.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, The Torches, Fuel
LOCOG, together with sustainability partner and sponsor EDF Energy, committed in 2009 to provide a "low-carbon fuel solution for the flames of the Olympic torch and the cauldron". When the torch was unveiled on 8 June 2011, London 2012's chairman Sebastian Coe admitted the failure of the initiative, as "In simple terms, we didn't quite get there ... We just ran [out] of time and we tried very hard to do it". The final design of the torch used a "tried and tested formula" of butane and propane.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Turnout
Around 3,000 people were said to have been at Land's End to send the Torch on its way on Day 1, while Day 2 saw police deliberately limit crowds at the Shaldon Bridge at Teignmouth, Devon, to around 7,000, while the various stages through Plymouth were said to have attracted 55,000. Photographs similarly show crowds up to 10 deep on each side of the road in central Falmouth (Day 1). Arriving in Wales for the first time on Day 8, the torch was reported as being greeted by 25,000 in Caerphilly.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Turnout
Numbers lining the route in no way abated as the days passed, with Bowness by Lake Windermere, for example, mustering 5,000 on Day 34; Skegness, Lincolnshire (a town of less than 20,000 people) featuring 5-deep crowds along both sides of its streets on Day 40; and Maidstone on Day 62 playing host to an estimated 40,000-strong crowd. As the relay reached London, the numbers of people turning out were still more exceptional, with much of Oxford Street featuring crowds 13-deep on both sides (on Day 69). That day ended with a 60,000-strong crowd for the evening events in Hyde Park. The Police Service gave an estimate for the UK as a whole of some 12 million people lining the route for the torch.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Controversy
In early June, as the torch relay entered its third week, it was revealed that many of those selected to carry torches on the relay were corporate executives with commercial ties to Olympic sponsors.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Security
The torch was escorted by a team of trained officers from the Metropolitan Police Service known as the Torch Security Team. These were chosen from 644 initial applications through an eight-month selection process. Their primary role was to protect the Olympic and Paralympic Flames as well as ensuring the safety of the torchbearer. These "runners" formed part of a wider torch security team which consisted of motorcyclists, pedal cyclists, senior officers and operational planners.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Security, Incidents
Near Land's End, one man broke past the pace car but was swiftly tackled to the ground by the Torch Security Team, as he was thought to be trying to reach the torchbearer.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Security, Incidents
In Derry, Northern Ireland, scuffles broke out between police and republican protesters, as they blocked the planned route near the Guildhall. Consequently, the relay was forced to divert in order to reach the Peace Bridge.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Security, Incidents
At Bishop Auckland in County Durham, the torchbearer was Kieran Maxwell, a 13-year-old from Newton Aycliffe. He had been diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in 2010 and lost part of his left leg. He fell whilst carrying the torch but was quickly helped to his feet by the Torch Security Team.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Security, Incidents
As the torch was leaving Headingley towards Leeds, a man with a bucket of water was seen in the crowd. He was swiftly tackled by the security team before he could empty the contents.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Security, Incidents
On 25 June UK Uncut staged protests against changes to the National Health Service as the torch travelled past the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Security, Incidents
A male streaker with 'Free Tibet' written on his back was arrested on 10 July, after running in front of the torch as it passed through Henley-on-Thames.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Security, Incidents
A 17-year-old was arrested on 20 July in Gravesend, Kent after unsuccessfully attempting to grab the torch while screaming 'Allahu Akbar'.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Modes of transport
As well as road runners, the Flame was conveyed on other modes of transport, sometimes kept in Davy lamps.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Modes of transport
On water, the torch rode in a power boat in Bristol Harbour, in an RNLI lifeboat along the Menai Strait, by ferry on the Mersey Ferry, and by the steamboat MV Tern across Windermere. In unpowered watercraft, it was punted along the River Cam in Cambridge, and rowed along the River Medway in Maidstone. Its final journey to the Olympic Stadium on 27 July was by speedboat, piloted by footballer David Beckham along the River Thames.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Modes of transport
Over rail the torch was hauled by steam locomotives of various gauges. The LMS Royal Scot Class locomotive No. 6115 Scots Guardsman conveyed it on the East Coast Main Line between York and Thirsk. Scots Guardsman was used as a substitute for No. 4472 Flying Scotsman. It was discovered soon after returning from a long overhaul that Flying Scotsman had many unnoticed cracks on it that needed repairing urgently and as a result, the iconic and famous 'Scotsman' was unable to return to service in time to haul the Olympic Torch.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Modes of transport
Trips were also taken on standard gauge heritage railways at the Great Central Railway, North Yorkshire Moors Railway and Severn Valley Railway On smaller gauges the torch visited the Ffestiniog Railway and a miniature railway Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway. It was taken up funicular railways the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway, Hastings East Hill Cliff Railway, and Great Orme Tramway, as well as the narrow gauge rack railway the Snowdon Mountain Railway. Electric trams carried the torch on the Blackpool tramway and Manx Electric Railway. After it arrived in London the torch took a trip on the London Underground between Wimbledon and Wimbledon Park.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Modes of transport
By road, the torch would complete 80% of its tour, in a security van. A road train was used in the Mumbles and it rode on an open top bus through the Cumbrian countryside. The torch was transported on three wheels by a TT motorcycle sidecar on the Isle of Man, by a Paralympic road cycle around Brands Hatch motor racing circuit and by mountain bike at the Hadleigh Farm course in Essex.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Modes of transport
Horses were used when the torch was carried at the Cheltenham and Chester racecourses. It was carried on a Cob horse in Aberaeron and hauled by horse-drawn tram on the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, Modes of transport
Journeys by air were taken when the torch travelled by zip wire from the top of the Tyne Bridge to the Gateshead riverside, and when conveyed by cable car up the Heights of Abraham. It was also suspended over water as it was transported by the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge over the River Tees.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, End of relay
The end of the relay took place in the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.


2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, End of relay
The torch arrived aboard a speedboat piloted by David Beckham, via the Limehouse Cut. Steve Redgrave received the flame from young footballer Jade Bailey, the torchbearer on the boat, and carried it into the Olympic Stadium. Then Redgrave handed the torch to the seven young athletes, each one nominated by an athlete. The athletes then each applied their torch to one of the 204 petals, which then lit and converged to create the cauldron, which was designed by Thomas Heatherwick.


2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, the 14th Summer Paralympic Games, and also more generally known as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), that took place in London, England, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012. These Paralympics were one of the largest multi-sport events ever held in the country after the 2012 Summer Olympics, and until the date the  largest Paralympics ever: 4,302 athletes from 164 National Paralympic Committees participated, with fourteen countries appearing in the Paralympics for the first time ever.


2012 Summer Paralympics
The lead-up to these games prominently emphasized the return of the Paralympic movement to its spiritual birthplace: in 1948, the British village of Stoke Mandeville first hosted the Stoke Mandeville Games, an athletics event for disabled British veterans of the Second World War held to coincide with the opening of the Summer Olympics in London. They were the first-ever organized sporting event for disabled athletes and served as a precursor to the modern Paralympic Games. Stoke Mandeville also co-hosted the 1984 Summer Paralympics with Long Island, New York, after its original host, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, pulled out due to financial issues.


2012 Summer Paralympics
Organizers expected the Games to be the first Paralympics to achieve mass-market appeal, fuelled by continued enthusiasm from the British public following the country's successful performance at the Summer Olympics, awareness of the United Kingdom's role in the history of the Paralympics, public attention surrounding South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius (who had recently become the first double amputee to compete in the Summer Olympics alongside able-bodied athletes), a major marketing campaign instituted by the Games' local broadcaster, and growing media coverage of Paralympic sport. The games ultimately met these expectations, breaking records for ticket sales, heightening the profile of the Paralympics in relation to the Olympics, and prompting IPC president Philip Craven to declare them the "greatest Paralympic Games ever."


2012 Summer Paralympics
A total of 503 events in 20 sports were held during these games; for the first time since their suspension after the 2000 Paralympics, events for the intellectually disabled were also held in selected sports. 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Bidding process
As part of a formal agreement between the International Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee established in 2001, 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation
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 the ODA dealt with infrastructure and venues.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation
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 the London 2012 Olympic Legacy.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Venues and infrastructure
The 2012 Summer Paralympics used many of the same venues as the 2012 Summer Olympics, along with two new locations such as Eton Manor for wheelchair tennis and Brands Hatch for road cycling. London's purpose-built Olympic venues and facilities, including the Olympic Village itself, were designed to be accessible as possible so they could easily accommodate the Paralympics. Some venues also contained additional accessible seating areas during the Paralympics.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Public transport
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 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 the Olympics.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Public transport
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 the start of the Paralympics, the station finished their installation by early August 2012.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Handover ceremony
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 similar to its presentation during the Olympics' closing ceremony. 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Handover ceremony
The top of the bus was open and folded down to show 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 the Paralympic flag.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Paralympic Day and Super Saturday
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 the unveiling of a bronze statue of Pistorius by Ben Dearnley. British Prime Minister David Cameron and London's mayor Boris Johnson also appeared.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Paralympic Day and Super Saturday
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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Channel 4 promotional campaign
Channel 4—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 the slogan "Thanks for the warm-up".


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Channel 4 promotional campaign
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 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 channels ITV and Sky1).


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Channel 4 promotional campaign
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 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Channel 4 promotional campaign
Meet the Superhumans won 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 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."


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Royal Mail stamps and gold post boxes
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 the London 2012 logo.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Royal Mail stamps and gold post boxes
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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Royal Mail stamps and gold post boxes
Royal Mail originally planned only to release 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 organization 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 the Olympics and that "it would be a shame if this important symbol was not offered to our Paralympian heroes as well."


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Royal Mail stamps and gold post boxes
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 the criticism, Royal Mail announced on 15 August 2012 that it would release individual stamps for each British gold medallist during the Paralympics.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Lead-up and promotion, Test events
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 the first Paralympic event to be held at London's Olympic Stadium.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Torch relay
The Paralympic torch relay began on 22 August, when groups of integrated scouts kindled four Paralympic flames on the highest peaks of each nation of the United Kingdom; 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 the bank holiday weekend.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Torch relay
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 the opening ceremony's parade of nations took longer than expected, the flame was able to arrive at Olympic Stadium in time.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Ticketing
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 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Ticketing
Organisers expected 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 the Olympics alongside able-bodied athletes, and affordable prices.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Ticketing
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 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Ticketing
The last 800 tickets to the Opening Ceremony were distributed to police and the military, while Mayor Boris Johnson arranged for 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Logo
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, 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".


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Mascots
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 drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton, and feature singular camera eyes —representing "focus"— with 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Opening ceremony
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 the concept of "Enlightenment". It featured appearances by theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, along with actors Ian McKellen and Nicola Miles-Wildin playing the roles of Prospero and Miranda from The Tempest. The ceremony also featured a performance by British electronic music group Orbital. The leading UK disabled theatre company Graeae played their version of the polio survivor Ian Dury's 1981 protest song 'Spasticus Autisticus'.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Opening ceremony
The final bearers of the Paralympic flame represented several generations of Paralympic athletes. "Future" Paralympic athlete Joe Townsend, 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 the first official Paralympics, in Rome.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Closing ceremony
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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Closing ceremony
The ceremony featured sequences set to a live performance by the British rock band Coldplay, who 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 her collaboration with Coldplay, "Princess of China", and her solo hit "We Found Love") and American rapper Jay-Z (who performed "Run This Town" with Rihanna and Coldplay, and joined in a reprise of "Paradise").


2012 Summer Paralympics, Development and preparation, Closing ceremony
To mark its hosting of the 2016 Summer Paralympics, the Paralympic flag was passed from Boris Johnson, Mayor of London to Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro. 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." 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Participating National Paralympic Committees
London 2012 had the largest number of athletes and participating nations of any Paralympic Games. A total of 4,302 athletes from 164 countries competed in the Games. This represented an increase of 291 athletes and 18 countries from the 2008 Games, which had 4,011 athletes from 146 countries.


2012 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Participating National Paralympic Committees
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 the first time since 1988.


2012 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Participating National Paralympic Committees
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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Sports
The programme of the 2012 Summer Paralympics featured events in 20 sports. The number of events in each sport is noted in parentheses.


2012 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Sports
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 was found that only 2 of their 12 team members actually suffered from intellectual disability. The IPC would impose higher scrutiny on intellectually disabled athletes in London, and also implemented a new procedure involving "sports intelligence" testing to better determine eligibility.


2012 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Sports
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 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Medal count
This table is based on the medal count of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).


2012 Summer Paralympics, The Games, Medal count
The ranking is sorted primarily by 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
Broadcast rights to 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
LOCOG chief Sebastian Coe stated that "beyond how the commercial value of this package has raised 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."


2012 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
LOCOG reached deals with broadcasters such as China Central Television, the Korean Broadcasting System, NHK, Rede Globo and SporTV in Brazil, 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.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
Channel 4's coverage of the Games was billed as the most extensive Paralympic coverage ever broadcast in the United Kingdom; it promised over 150 hours of live coverage throughout the Games on Channel 4 and sister channel More4, and additional coverage online and through special channels carried by Freesat, Sky and Virgin TV (in both standard and high definition).


2012 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
The broadcaster also invested around £600,000 towards training new on-air personalities with expertise in disability sports for the Games, many of whom were disabled themselves—they would also be joined by Channel 4 News anchor Jon Snow, and BBC Sport personality Clare Balding. Channel 4 also broadcast supplemental programming to lead towards the Games, such as Paralympic-focused documentaries, other IPC championships, and That Paralympic Show, a weekly program focusing on disability sports.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
During the Games, comedian Adam Hills (who himself was born without a right leg, and hosted the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's coverage of the Beijing Paralympics) would host The Last Leg, a Paralympic-themed late night chat show that followed the conclusion of each night's coverage. Channel 4's coverage of the Games drew relatively high viewership; its coverage of the opening ceremony was seen by an average of 7.6 million viewers, a 40% share, and peaked at 11.2 million viewers—making it one of Channel 4's most-watched programmes in network history. Primetime coverage saw an average of 3.3 million viewers nightly, while viewership peaked at 4.5 million viewers during the men's T44 200m final where Alan Oliveira beat Oscar Pistorius for the gold medal. Its coverage of the closing ceremony peaked at 7.7 million viewers.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
Similarly extensive coverage was televised by RTVE in Spain, with approximately 150 hours of live coverage on Teledeporte and TVE HD. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation aired over 100 hours of coverage across its networks during the Paralympics, with coverage on both ABC1 and ABC2. Coverage of the Games set viewership records for ABC, peaking at 1.6 million viewers on average (in comparison to 1.3 million in Beijing), while ABC2 peaked at a 4.7% viewership share, beating competing digital networks. ABC's coverage was also nominated for a Logie Award for "Most Popular Sports Program".


2012 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
In the United States, NBC Sports, while not being certified as an official broadcaster, purchased and provided five-and-a-half hours of coverage in total, and no live coverage. Additionally, Pay TV channel NBC Sports Network aired one-hour highlight shows, and NBC broadcast a special recapping the Games on 16 September. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee provided extensive coverage through its own digital outlets. Critics and American athletes expressed disappointment at NBC for its decision not to broadcast any live coverage of the Games.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting
In Canada, rights were held by Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium; TSN (English) and RDS (French) produced daily hour-long highlight programs (some of which were aired by CTV Television), while tape-delayed airings of the opening ceremony were carried by Sportsnet One, TSN2, RDS, and RDS2. The coverage was simulcast with open audio descriptions by AMI-tv, a network which broadcasts programming with accommodations for those who are visually or hearing impaired. AMI-tv also broadcast supplemental programming, such as a daily news program from London and a documentary series focusing on Canadian athletes at the Paralympics.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Broadcasting, Paralympic Media Awards
The Telegraph Media Group won the Best Written (print and online) award and Channel 4 won the best broadcast award. The best radio award went to BBC World Service and Larry Wong working for Edmonton Journal won the best photo prize for his image of Benoit Huot.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, Atos involvement
The role of IT company Atos as a technology provider and official sponsor of the Paralympic Games was criticised by disability-rights groups, due to its contract with Britain's Department for Work and Pensions to carry out capability assessments that determine eligibility for disability benefits. They argued that Atos's programme had lacked integrity and was intended to help cut government spending, since the assessments have resulted in many disabled workers being incorrectly judged as "fit for work" and denied benefits.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, Atos involvement
Therefore, the groups considered it hypocritical for Atos to sponsor a sporting event for the disabled whilst simultaneously operating a programme that has negatively affected their lives. UK Uncut, a political group opposed to public-service budget cuts, held a series of protests dubbed "The Atos Games" to coincide with the start of the Paralympics, culminating with joint demonstrations with Disabled People Against Cuts outside the London headquarters of both Atos and the Department for Work and Pensions on 31 August 2012. Speaking at the protests, comedian Jeremy Hardy said that the programme's intent to "victimise people with disabilities" was "blatant and shameless."


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, Atos involvement
During the opening ceremony some British athletes reportedly obscured the Atos logo on their accreditation passes in protest of their involvement. However, an official from the British Paralympic Association denied that this had been the case. LOCOG defended Atos's involvement, stating that the company was "a critical and valued member of [the companies] delivering these Games", due to the technologies it has provided, which included information systems for managing volunteers and distributing event results.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, Ticketing
Controversy arose about seating rules for wheelchair users, after two disabled mothers accused LOCOG of having discriminatory policies. One claimed she had been told by a LOCOG staff member that spectators in a wheelchair area at the Velodrome could only be accompanied by one adult, and children could not attend without being accompanied by another able-bodied adult, while another was told that her ability to sit in a wheelchair area with her children at ExCeL London was "not guaranteed". A petition for improved access for disabled families, started by one of the mothers on Change.org, quickly collected over 30,000 signatures. LOCOG denied having discriminatory policies, stating that disabled parents could steward their children in wheelchair seating areas at events with unreserved seats, but may not all be able to sit together at events with reserved seating.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, Ticketing
LOCOG faced further criticism for how it handled the sale of tickets for the wheelchair areas within venues. In May 2012 the online sale of tickets for wheelchair areas was replaced by a dedicated telephone hotline. Organisers were criticised for their use of an 0844 revenue share number for this hotline, and for neglecting to mention on its ticketing website that calls would be charged by the minute. Former sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe viewed this as discrimination against wheelchair users, and called upon LOCOG to compensate those who had used the hotline. LOCOG denied that it was receiving additional profits from the phone line, and claimed that a dedicated line was being used to allow customers to receive a service tailored to their individual accessibility needs.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, Ticketing
A minor incident occurred involving blind Member of Parliament David Blunkett, who was attending the opening ceremony alongside a Channel 4 director. Blunkett was denied access to his seat at Olympic Stadium because there was no room for his guide dog, and had to watch the ceremony from seats in the stadium's gantry instead. However, Blunkett noted that this was an isolated incident and chose not to make an issue of it, simply advising organisers to "seek to find a solution rather than impose a preconceived notion of what is or is not possible."


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, British television coverage
British official broadcaster Channel 4 received some criticism for its coverage of the Paralympics. Users of Twitter complained that its coverage of the opening ceremony contained too many commercial breaks, drawing comparisons to similar complaints faced by NBC during the Olympics' opening ceremony; unlike the BBC, who televised the Olympics in the United Kingdom, both NBC and Channel 4 are supported by advertising. Complaints noted that Channel 4 had shown five ad breaks within the first hour of the ceremony, and that ironically, it had recently broadcast a six-hour long late-night dance music special with no adverts at all.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, British television coverage
Channel 4 defended the criticism by stating that it had broadcast "significantly fewer" commercials than normal for primetime programming during the ceremony, and that the ad breaks were needed in order to help the channel invest in broadcasting programming such as the Paralympics. Criticism was also made towards comments made by Jon Snow and Krishnan Guru-Murthy during the telecast; Snow was criticized for making comments about war-torn countries during the parade of nations, while Guru-Murthy received similar criticism for quipping that "looking at the ages of these athletes, which have been helpfully provided to us, they're really quite old."


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, British television coverage
Channel 4 was also accused of showing too many studio segments during the first few days of the Games rather than live events, and for missing several notable events involving British athletes, including a swimming heat where Eleanor Simmonds set a new personal best and almost beat the world record, Sarah Storey winning her eleventh Paralympic medal, and Great Britain's opening wheelchair basketball game against Germany.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, British television coverage
Channel 4 noted that time was needed during the first few days to explain Paralympic events and the classification system to viewers, and that it was operating three additional channels' worth of live coverage throughout the Games. The broadcaster also stated that it had to make editorial decisions on which events to air during periods where a large number of events were in progress. The amount of live coverage was also affected by Olympic Broadcasting Services, who did not send cameras or provide official television coverage for sports such as cycling, the marathon, and shooting. Channel 4's news department did send its own cameramen to film the affected events for highlights, but was unable to broadcast them live.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, American television coverage
In the United States, NBC Sports held the broadcast rights to both the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012. NBC had been frequently criticised in past years by American athletes and IPC officials for its minimal coverage of past Paralympics, and it was speculated by critics that NBC's history of inadequate coverage may have impacted New York City's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, American television coverage
In 2008, it did not air any coverage while the Games were in progress (neither live or delayed), choosing to air a recap documentary on NBC in November 2008, followed by a week of highlights on Universal Sports. While relatively larger than its Beijing coverage, NBC produced only five-and-a-half hours of specials featuring tape delayed highlights of the Games; most of them aired on pay-TV channel NBCSN, while the last aired on NBC a week following the conclusion of the Games. No coverage of the opening and closing ceremonies, nor any live coverage, was provided. By contrast, some broadcasters (such as the host broadcasters, and broadcasters in Australia and Spain) planned to air at least 100 hours or more of coverage from London, and NBC itself had provided extensive coverage of the London Olympics, which was heavily viewed.


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, American television coverage
NBC's lack of coverage drew the ire of American disability rights groups and IPC president Philip Craven, who expressed his disappointment for American athletes and viewers who were unable to fully experience the games on television. Craven remarked that "some people think that North America always [leads] on everything, and on this they don't. It's about time they caught up." Following the closing ceremonies, Craven hinted that the IPC might exercise greater scrutiny on broadcasters at future Paralympics by stating that "if we find our values don't fit, we'll have to go somewhere else."


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, American television coverage
NBC acquired the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Paralympic Games in September 2013; the broadcaster vowed to air a relatively larger amount of Paralympic coverage from Sochi and Rio de Janeiro respectively—in particular, NBC and NBCSN were to air at least 66 hours from Rio. Craven praised NBC's decision to devote a relatively larger amount of airtime to future Paralympics, sharing his hope that U.S. audiences would be "as captivated and emotionally enthralled as the billions around the world who tuned in to London 2012 last summer."


2012 Summer Paralympics, Controversies, Women's discus medals
During the women's class F35/36 discus competition, an error in scoring caused the wrong medals to be presented. In this combined class event, final standings were determined based on a points calculation. The calculation converted distances thrown into points, to account for the different functional impairments of the participating athletes. Due to an error in the scoring system, the gold medal in the event was originally awarded to Ukrainian athlete Mariia Pomazan. When the mistake was discovered, the recalculated points showed that Chinese athlete Wu Qing had finished first, with Pomazan in second place. A second medal ceremony was held, which Pomazan did not attend in protest. She was eventually required to return her gold medal.


2012 Summer Paralympics Parade of Nations
During the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games, athletes from each participating country paraded in the Olympic Stadium, preceded by its flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Paralympic Committee or by the athletes themselves.


2012 Summer Paralympics Parade of Nations, Parade order
All nations paraded in alphabetical order except the host country, Great Britain, who entered last.


2012 Summer Paralympics Parade of Nations, Countries and flag bearers
The following is a list of all parading countries with their respective flag bearer, sorted in the order they appeared in the parade. This is sortable by country name under which they entered, the flag bearer's name, or the flag bearer's sport. Names are given as were officially designated by the IPC.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympics, also known as The Festival of the Flame, was held on 9 September at the Olympic Stadium in London. Kim Gavin (who also directed the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics) served as director for the ceremony, while Stephen Daldry served as its executive producer. The ceremony was themed around festivals and the four seasons, and was set to music performed live by the British rock group Coldplay, also joined by special guest performers such as the British Paraorchestra, Rihanna and Jay-Z.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony
In a formal handover ceremony, the Paralympic flag was passed from Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, to Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, the host city of the 2016 Summer Paralympics. During his closing speech, International Paralympic Committee president Philip Craven congratulated London for hosting "the greatest Paralympic Games ever." Following the official closure of the Games, the Paralympic cauldron was extinguished by swimmer Eleanor Simmonds and sprinter Jonnie Peacock.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Production
Kim Gavin, who also directed the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics just a few weeks prior, would serve as the director for the ceremony. The ceremony's overlying theme was the gathering of people in celebration, honouring the many seasonal festivals that have been held throughout Great Britain's history. Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin was enthusiastic about his band's prominent role in the closing ceremony, and promised that their act would "close London 2012 in style." Both Gavin and executive producer Stephen Daldry contended that the closing ceremony would not just simply be a Coldplay concert, promising "fantastic visuals and amazing stunts" throughout.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Production
Charles Hazlewood's British Paraorchestra (a 17-piece orchestra of musicians with disabilities—the first of its kind in the United Kingdom), made appearances during the closing ceremony; performing alongside Coldplay and also performing the Paralympic anthem. Hazlewood campaigned for the Paraorchestra to be included in the ceremonies of the Paralympics, as he felt that their inclusion could help spread international awareness for disabled musicians.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Pre-show
In order for all the athletes to enjoy the show in its entirety, all athletes entered the stadium together before the start of the ceremony to take their seats. A group of silver-coloured "dreamers" then took to the field on a set of pedal powered vehicles that doubled up as musical instruments. Some of the dreamers kept falling asleep, but they eventually managed to inflate three crescent moons which were lifted from the ground and suspended, forming the Agitos. None of the pre-show was broadcast on television. The Dreamers remained on the field, asleep until the official start of the Closing Ceremony.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Windstorm
The closing ceremony opened with a film called "The Book of Fire" by director Mike Christie showing "eccentric travellers" from around the city making their way to the Olympic Stadium in steampunk-inspired vehicles prepared by the performance art group Mutoid Waste Company. At the end of the film, a group of Wind Gremlins drove into the stadium on custom-built motorbikes with huge fans on the front. The wind awakened the Dreamers from their sleep, and they struggled to fend off the Gremlins' attack while keeping the Agitos in place. In the end the Dreamers were unable to hold on, and the Agitos float away with one of the Dreamers still clinging on to them. At that point, performers carrying flares entered the field of play to the rescue of the Dreamers.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Raising of the Flag
A horse-like vehicle entered and was followed by the Human Endeavour machine pulled by a team from Help for Heroes. When the team reached the sundial stage a flagpole was erected with the combined effort of the men from the team. Captain Luke Sinnott (who lost both of his legs and an arm in an explosion on-duty in Helmand, Afghanistan, and aimed to compete in sailing at the 2016 Summer Paralympics) proceeded to climb the pole (representing human endeavour) to fly the Union Flag.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Raising of the Flag
At the same time 54 drummers carrying flaming poles on their backs marched onto the field to form the Agitos. Just as Captain Sinnott reached the top of the flag pole, Prince Edward and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Sir Philip Craven were driven through the Agitos on the field in an art car built from the body of a military vehicle and a 1930s automobile. Blind and autistic singer Lissa Hermans performed the British national anthem "God Save the Queen" (which she also performed as a charity single for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II).


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Heart of Many Nations
After climbing the steps to the top of the sundial stage in the centre, the Reader, played by Lance Corporal Rory MacKenzie, addressed the stadium with a speech introducing the theme of the ceremony's cultural presentation, "The Festival of the Flame". His speech was followed by the entrance of the flags of participating nations. At the end of the procession, the flagbearers were in formation in the shape of a heart, and pyrotechnics outlined their shape on the field.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Truck Invasion
The Reader then read a text taken from a modern druidic ritual written by members of the British Druid Order, calling upon the spirits of the four seasons. After he announced the commencement of the festival, a squad armed with backpack flamethrowers walked onto the field burning patterns similar to crop circles into the grass. At the same time the trucks and travellers previously seen in the opening film entered the stadium, forming a procession consisting of ships, a Clocks truck, creatures like a fish and a grasshopper, and crows on stilts. The truck invasion ended with all trucks and performers assembled around the central sundial stage.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Spirit of the Games
This section began with the awarding of the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award to Mary Nakhumicha Zakayo of Kenya and Michael McKillop of Ireland. Zakayo competed in discus, javelin and shot put T57-58. McKillop won gold medals in the 800m T37 and 1500m T37. After this, the six newly elected members of the IPC Athlete's Council; Arnaud Assoumani (Athletics, France), Gizem Girismen, (Para–Archery, Turkey), Jon McCullough (7–a–side Football, United States of America), Teresa Perales (Swimming, Spain), Elvira Stinissen (Sitting Volleyball, Netherlands), Yu Chui Yee (Wheelchair Fencing, Hong Kong) were introduced to the stadium. These six represented all athletes and the IPC in thanking the volunteers of the London 2012 Paralympic Games by presenting flowers to volunteer representatives.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Festival of the Flame
The Festival of the Flame kicked off properly as a live concert by Coldplay followed. Coldplay performed from the sundial stage, and performances were broadly categorised into the four seasons, beginning with Autumn and finishing with Summer.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Festival of the Flame, Autumn
Coldplay began the set with "Us Against The World", as performers crowded around the stage signed the lyrics to the song. They then followed it with "Yellow", one of the band's first singles, while dancers from the Candoco Dance Company danced on the North Stage and a flaming mask of the Sun King rose from it, signifying the end of the harvest season. Coldplay next sang "Up in Flames", with aerial artistes Lyndsay Care (who has cerebral palsy) and Denis Remnev performing a strap act on the Clocks truck. The band closed the Autumn segment with "Paradise"; 19 aerialists attached to lightbulbs floated from the top down to the field, symbolising fireflies which mark the end of Autumn.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Festival of the Flame, Winter
The short Winter segment was soundtracked by Coldplay's "42". 6 warrior skaters holding flaming torches skated around the Snow Queen (played by Viktoria Modesta Moskalova) on the South Stage, frozen in her cage. Slowly the skaters melted the "ice" and removed the bars on her cage, releasing the Queen. The Snow Queen was inspired by the White Queen from C. S. Lewis' popular series The Chronicles of Narnia. Green lights then filled the stadium, replacing the chilly blue of Winter and signalling the impending arrival of Spring. Coldplay performed "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with guest drummer Mat Fraser, who was born with phocomelia of both arms.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Festival of the Flame, Spring
Spring opened with a performance of "Clocks" featuring a laser show and poi jugglers from  performing with their unique Pixel-Poi light batons which projected images whilst spinning through the air. The stadium lit up with Xylobands, special LED wristbands given to all athletes in the field of play which lit up in time to the music. These were the same type of wristbands given to audience members of Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto Tour.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Festival of the Flame, Spring
During the next song "Charlie Brown", 120 children carrying 600 car hub caps ran towards the Fish truck in the field of play and hung the caps, painted to represent fish scales, on the fish skeleton. Rihanna arrived on the Ship truck to perform "Princess of China", her collaboration with Coldplay.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Festival of the Flame, Summer
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin introduced the British Paraorchestra who performed a short instrumental intro leading into "Strawberry Swing", while dancers behind the orchestra danced their way into the Summer segment. After that song, Rihanna made her second appearance, singing "We Found Love" whilst suspended on a metal bench over the dancers and performers rode carousel horses suspended in the air. Coldplay concluded this segment of the ceremony with a performance of "Viva la Vida". The Summer dancers and Candoco Dance Company danced on the two stages as other performers joined in the revelry. The main concert segment finished with Chris Martin leading the stadium in a big sing-along from the top of the sundial.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Alô Rio
The Paralympic flag was formally lowered by three members of the Ministry of Defence, while the British Paraorchestra performed the Paralympic anthem. The flag was then passed from the hands of the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to that of IPC president Philip Craven, who in turn formally handed the flag to Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio de Janeiro, the next host city in 2016.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Joy
The handover was followed by a cultural presentation by Rio entitled "Joy". Set to music performed by Thalma De Freitas, Paralamas do Sucesso and Carlinhos Brown, it featured disabled and able-bodied dancers competing in dance battles that incorporated a combination of hip-hop with traditional Brazilian dances. The presentation ended with fireworks.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Final Flame
The presentation was followed by speeches from LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe and Sir Philip Craven. Coe stated that we had our minds opened to what people can do and achieve by sheer talent and determination. Coe paid tribute to the volunteers of the games by recalling two stories of people he had met. The first was during a journey on the tube where he met Andrew, a Games Maker, which Coe branded among the heroes of London 2012, who is a doctor at St Mary's hospital whilst on his way to helping out at the boxing.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Final Flame
When Coe tried to thank him for all his help, Andrew said that it is Coe who should be thanked. Andrew suddenly said that he had was on duty during the London bombings for him this is closure. Andrew wasn't sure that he should come but was glad he did, as he had seen the worst of mankind and now he had seen the best of mankind. A few days later Coe met Emily at the Paralympic Games, who said that it has lifted the cloud of limitation.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Final Flame
Coe then stated to Andrew and Emily that he was going to have the last word and thanked them and all the volunteers, which drew a standing ovation from the crowd. Continuing Coe stated that the games led the public to not think about sport or disability the same way again, and agreeing with Emily that the cloud has been lifted. Coe felt that London's high quality organisation of the Olympics and Paralympics were worthy enough of being labelled "Made in Britain."


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Final Flame
Craven hailed the Games as simply amazing. Continuing Craven noted that the Beijing Closing Ceremony theme was a Letter to the Future which was received with open arms by Coe and his team committed to delivering a successful games in London; stating that the team were determined to satisfy the British public's insatiable appetite for elite sport.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Final Flame
Craven continuing stated that the Olympic Delivery Authority and LOCOG have helped inspired a generation; adding that this were not just London's Games, but thanks to LOCOG's Charles Alan's group, they were the Games of the United Kingdom and noted that the country had a feel good factor like never before. Craven stated that there were numerous of examples of teams working together and noted that those with irrepressible smiles and a fountain of knowledge is whom the biggest cheer should be reserved for, stating "has already happened and will happen again", the thousands of Games Makers.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Final Flame
Craven went on to hail the International and national technical officials, classifiers and particularly the armed forces and emergency services who had stepped into the breach. Paralympians were noted by Craven for giving to the world many feats that people thought impossible, causing the media to be wax lyrical, and leading many spectators to create what Boris Johnson described as a wall of noise. Craven stated that the Games had truly come home and had found a path for the future.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Final Flame
Craven congratulated London for staging what were "unique and without doubt, in my mind and those of the athletes, the greatest Paralympic Games ever." Craven concluded by linking Stephen Hawking's words about changing perceptions across multiple dimensions from the opening ceremony to George Glenn, a five-year-old, who was asked a question by his mother, Emma, when reading a book called Treasure. Emma asked who that man was on the first page, who was dressed as a pirate. George's reply was "well he only has one leg – so he must be an athlete."


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Final Flame
Craven stated that kids just get it now we all do thanks to the amazing performance witnessed here. Craven closed the 2012 Paralympic Games and stated that these Paralympic Games will live for an eternity and called on all Paralympic athletes around the world to meet again in four years in Rio. Craven ended with a big, big thank you for the people of London and the United Kingdom.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, The Final Flame
Following Sir Philip's speech, the Paralympics cauldron was extinguished, save for one petal. British Paralympians Eleanor Simmonds and Jonnie Peacock lit their torches with this last flame, and they in turn passed the flame on to performers who spread out onto the field of play, representing an eternal flame reaching all people. Coldplay and Rihanna returned to the stage with rapper Jay-Z to perform his collaboration "Run This Town", followed by a reprise of "Paradise" with new rap verses from Jay-Z.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Finale
This was then followed by a performance by Coldplay of "The Scientist" set to a video montage of highlights from the Games. Coldplay closed the ceremony with a performance of "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall", while fountains on the stages sprayed and performers danced in the "rain". The final song was followed by a fireworks display over the Olympic Stadium and the Thames River, accompanied by an orchestral and choral arrangement of Coldplay's Politik, during which Tower Bridge was raised.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Finale
The display ended with the Union Flag being projected on the Palace of Westminster, which faded to black, revealing a message reading "Thank you London, Thank you UK." Stadium announcers Trish Bertram and Marc Edwards closed the ceremony with a farewell message – To athletes of the world to the people of London and the United Kingdom, the volunteers and the staff of the London 2012 Organising Committee, thank you for an unforgettable summer, thank you for inspiring a generation. Good night and goodbye.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Reception
An estimated number of 7.7 million people watched the closing ceremony on Channel 4.


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Reception
Bernadette McNulty of The Daily Telegraph characterized the closing ceremony as a more "thematic, pagan-style show" than the intellectual opening ceremony, and described its opening scene as "a fire-filled opener filled with cannibalised machines that looked like a cross between War Horse and Scrapheap Challenge." Whilst acknowledging that Coldplay may not be considered the best example of British music by all viewers, McNulty praised the band for "[knowing] how to play to a stadium and fill it with emotionally, uplifting anthems" and for not performing their "potentially patronizing 'Fix You'." McNulty concluded by proclaiming that "the most successful Paralympics ever thankfully got the rousing closing ceremony that it deserved."


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Reception
The Guardian's Alexis Petridis noted that portions of the closing ceremony had a noticeably darker feel than the other ceremonies of the Olympics and Paralympics in London, but complimented it for having "[a] whiff of the kind of thing you see at 3am in the outlying fields at Glastonbury", unlike the Olympics' closing ceremony, which had "a whiff of a bad night at the Brits."


2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony, Reception
Although he considered some of Coldplay's slower, anthem-like songs to be in conflict with his belief that the Paralympics were not about "pity" (which he associated the songs with through their use on reality TV shows), Petridis praised Coldplay's more upbeat performances, such as their performance of "Strawberry Swing" alongside the Paraorchestra, and concluded that the performance of "Run This Town" was "weirdly appropriate" when viewed in the context of the Games.


2012 Summer Paralympics medal table
The medal table of the 2012 Summer Paralympics ranks the participating National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) by the number of gold medals won by their athletes during the competition. The 2012 Paralympics was the fourteenth Games to be held, a quadrennial competition open to athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities. The games were held in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012.


2012 Summer Paralympics medal table
Some 4,280 athletes, representing 164 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), competed in 503 events in 20 sports. This was the highest number of athletes and NPCs ever competing at a Paralympic Games. The medals were designed by Lin Cheung and show a representation of the wing of the Greek goddess Nike taken directly from a statue held by the British Museum. The engraving on the medals was conducted by the Royal Mint.


2012 Summer Paralympics medal table
Athletes from 57 NPCs won at least one gold medal, with a total of 75 having won at least one medal of any colour. Athletes from Chile, Ethiopia, Fiji, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan won their first Paralympic medals. Of those nations, the National Olympic Committee of Fiji had never won an Olympic medal until 2016. China topped the medal table with 231 medals in total, including 95 gold medals. Host Great Britain placed third with 120 medals, including 34 golds. The most successful athlete at the Games was Australian swimmer Jacqueline Freney, who won eight gold medals. The most successful athletes outside the swimming competition were Raymond Martin from the United States and David Weir from Great Britain, who both won four gold medals each in athletics, and Sarah Storey from Great Britain, who won four gold medals in cycling.


2012 Summer Paralympics medal table, Medal table
The ranking in this table is based on information provided by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and is consistent with IPC convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won (in this context, a nation is an entity represented by a National Paralympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If NPCs are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically by IPC country code.


2012 Summer Paralympics medal table, Medal table
In the judo competition, an additional thirteen bronze medals were awarded as the winners of the two repechage brackets (for those who lost to the eventual finalists) each received a bronze medal.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony
The 2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony was held on 29 August 2012, starting at 20:30 BST and marking the official opening of the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, England. The show – named Enlightenment – had Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings as its artistic directors, leading a team that included Jon Bausor as set designer and Moritz Junge as costume designer. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Games. The ceremony was performed in the Olympic stadium in London in front of a capacity audience of 80,000 people.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Production
Students from local schools who are part of the get set network were part of the under-16 cast. These include Millfields Community School in Hackney, Eastlea Community School in Newham and Trinity School in Barking and Dagenham. A total of 110 days of rehearsals took place in Dagenham. The ceremony had an adult volunteer cast of over 3,000 people, along with over 100 children and over 100 professional performers. Among the professional performers were 73 deaf and disabled performers and among the volunteers were 68 people with disabilities.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Production
In the build-up to the opening ceremony, an eight-week circus skills training programme took place at The Circus Space in Hoxton, London, and was run by 50 specialist performers. Participants included professional artists and many people who were new to the arts scene, such as soldiers undergoing rehabilitation and non-competing disabled athletes. The programme was funded by Arts Council England, and was part of the Enlightenment section, performing on a 35-metre high platform above the stadium floor.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Production
Stephen Daldry commenting on the ceremonies of London 2012 noted that "if Danny Boyle's [Olympics opening ceremony] was very much about two revolutions and popular culture and Kim Gavin's [Olympics closing ceremony] was very much about a symphony of British music, then what you will get from Jenny and Bradley is something very different." Daldry also stated that "there will be an extraordinary number of disabled performers in the cast." Sealey introduced Stephen Hawking as the "most famous disabled person alive" who will narrate "the most exquisite journey," focusing on science and culture of the 18th century.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Production
As with the Olympics opening ceremony, The Tempest featured heavily and the character Miranda from the story starred in the ceremony, being the eyes for the audience. Sealey said that the character "sees everybody but she doesn't judge. That is fundamental to our personal and political ethos," adding that it is "fundamental, [that] you look without judging. It's about removing those attitudinal barriers." Sealey said that it was pure coincidence that she and Hemmings had chosen a line from the same play that was used by Boyle in the opening ceremony of the Olympics.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Production
"When we found out Danny Boyle was going to reference Shakespeare's The Tempest we burst out laughing." Hemming, when comparing the Games to the Large Hadron Collider, said that the LHC "transforms our perception of our place in the universe in the same way that the Paralympics transforms our perception of what's possible," while Sebastian Coe said that the ceremony would be a "great showcase of the skills and excellence of disabled artists."


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Production
Sealey and Hemming were determined to "pay tribute to the contributions that science has made to the able bodied and impaired alike." The pair approached Hawking in late 2011, who was adamant that he would write his own part. Hawking commented on his role that "to use this stage to show the world that regardless of differences between individuals, there is something that everyone is good at, is very important."


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Production
Sealey and Hemming worked closely with Hawking to develop a series of messages for the ceremony and spent time with him in Cambridge; Hemming said Hawking had been "incredibly gratified with him giving his time." Sealey said that although the ceremony has Hawking and Ian McKellen narrating, "what we all need to remember: don't just look down at your feet, look at the stars, be curious."


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Officials and Guests
The programme was attended by the Queen's grandson Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, David Cameron, the Prime Minister, with his wife Samantha Cameron and by London Mayor Boris Johnson.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings
Before the ceremony at 20:12 local time a flypast by Aerobility took place. Aerobility are a British charity that trains disabled people to become pilots.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Miranda
The Ceremony started with a countdown featuring shots of the universe starting from Earth working outwards. Stephen Hawking then appeared on the Moon stage and talked about science and reason, which was followed with the "big bang" taking place with people holding umbrellas. Fireworks were released as the audience was cast into deepest space. The audience was brought back to modern day London as Flawless performed a street-dance on the moon stage to Rihanna's "Umbrella", as several people holding coloured umbrellas floated around the stadium.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Miranda
One of the performers floating around the stadium was introduced as Miranda, portrayed by Nicola Miles-Wildin. The stadium was also greeted by Prospero (Ian McKellen). Prospero encouraged Miranda to go out and be our eyes on our journey of discovery in science. Hawking meanwhile encouraged Miranda to be curious while the cast created an eye symbolising Miranda's. Three vehicles with motifs from the history of science appeared followed by a performance of "Principia" by Errollyn Wallen which featured lyrics about science.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II and Sir Philip Craven entered the stadium, after they were seated the Union Flag was raised and the national anthem of the United Kingdom was played.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Majesty
Corporal of the Horse Brophy – The Household Cavalry Mounted Division; Lance Corporal Steane – Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards; Warrant Officer Vaughan – RM Poole; Chief Petty Officer Appleton – HMS Raleigh; Leading Hand Campbell – HMS Coniston; Warrant Officer Grundy – RAF Cranwell; Sergeant Hyde – RAF Valley; Lance Corporal O'Mahoney – The Household Cavalry Mounted Division; marched the flag to the flag pole under the leadership of Flight Lieutenant Marsden – RAF Halton. As they marched William Walton's "A Wartime Sketchbook" was heard.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Majesty
The flag was raised to the national anthem by Able Seaman Patel – HMS King Alfred; Corporal Penman – RAF Lossiemouth; Lance Corporal Peelo as a 430 strong choir performed the song and 12 people signed the song. Whilst the umbrellas in the centre of the stadium formed a representation of the flag.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Spirit in Motion
The Parade of Athletes then began. Teams entered in alphabetical order, according to the English language translation of their names. In accordance with tradition, the host country, Great Britain, marched into the stadium last. 165 countries were to participate in the Paralympics. However, neither Botswana nor Malawi, who were due to participate for the first time, sent their delegations. During the parade, a mix of global music was played by local DJs DJ Walde, DJ Excalibah and Goldierocks.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Spirit in Motion
After the parade Denise Leigh, who is blind and was the winner of Channel 4's Operatunity, sung Wallen's new piece "Spirit in Motion." Leigh was joined by deaf actress Deepa Shastri who signed the lyrics.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Homecoming
London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games chairman Sebastian Coe and President of the International Paralympic Committee Sir Philip Craven addressed the audience. Coe welcomed the Paralympic Games home before telling the story of the precursor to the Paralympic Games in 1948.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Homecoming
Coe said the Paralympic movement shows "what sport is all about, sport is about what you can do, what you can achieve, the limits you can reach, the barriers you can break, sport shows what is possible, sport refuses to take no for an answer; and everything that sport stands for we are going to see right here right now and in these Paralympic Games."


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Homecoming
Coe said that his team were determined to raise the bar for the Olympics and Paralympics, and that he wanted London 2012 to be an advance for the Paralympic movement and a landmark for disability worldwide and for the progress of mankind. Coe, talking to the athletes, stated that "they will hear us [the crowd]" and added that "the enthusiasm for these Games is extraordinary. The crowds will be unprecedented. These will be Games to remember." Coe told the world, "prepare to be inspired, prepare to be moved, prepare to be dazzled by the Paralympic Games of London 2012!"


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Homecoming
Craven said that it was the start of the biggest Paralympic Games ever and the night was a celebration of the development human spirit and the Paralympic Games coming home and of dreams becoming reality. Craven said that "what would happen at the Games had the energy to change each and every one of us." Craven then paid tribute to Sir Ludwig Guttmann and the people who helped him in 1948 to create the first sparks of the Paralympic movement.


2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Homecoming
Craven continued by paying tribute to the people who made London 2012 possible, particularly the Games Makers and the people of London, and noted that Coe's team exceeded everyone's wildest dreams with the Olympics. Craven stated that he was delighted to be joined by the President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge and his wife Anne in the stadium.