Summer Games Overview
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| Year | Location | Disabilities included | Number of Countries | Number of Athletes | Shared Venue with Olympics | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | London, Great Britain |
Spinal Injury, |
150* | 4200* | Yes | |
| 2008 | Beijing, China |
Spinal Injury |
150* | 4000* | Yes | Rowing to be added as a sport |
| 2004 | Athens, Greece |
Spinal Injury |
136 | 3806 | Yes | Football 5-a-side added as a sport. Record media attendance. |
| 2000 | Sydney, Australia |
Spinal Injury |
122 | 3843 | Yes |
Sailing and Wheelchair Rugby added as sports. Record ticket sales |
| 1996 | Atlanta, USA |
Spinal Injury |
103 | 3195 | Yes | Equestrian added as a sport. Track Cycling added as a discipline. First world-wide corporate sponsorship |
| 1992 | Barcelona, Spain |
Spinal Injury |
82 | 3021 | Yes | Event benchmark in organizational excellence |
| 1988 | Seoul, Korea |
Spinal Injury |
61 | 3013 | Yes | Judo, Wheelchair Tennis added as sports. Co-operation between Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committees |
| 1984 | Stoke Mandeville, UK & New York, USA |
Spinal Injury |
41 (UK) 45 (USA) |
1100 (UK) |
No | Football 7-a-side and Boccia added as sports, Road Cycling added as a discipline. Demonstration event at Olympic Games in L.A.: Wheelchair Racing |
| 1980 | Arnhem, Netherlands |
Spinal Injury |
42 | 1973 | No | Sitting Volleyball added as a discipline. Events for athletes with Cerebral Palsy included |
| 1976 | Toronto, Canada |
Spinal Injury |
38 | 1657 | No | First use of specialized racing wheelchairs. Volleyball (Standing), Goalball and Shooting added as sports |
| 1972 | Heidelberg, Germany | Spinal injury |
43 | 984 | No | First quadripledgic competition added. Demonstration events for athletes with a visual impairment |
| 1968 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Spinal injury |
29 | 750 | No |
Lawn Bowls added as a sport |
| 1964 | Tokyo, Japan | Spinal injury | 21 | 357 | Yes | Weightlifting added as a sport |
| 1960 | Rome, Italy | Spinal injury | 23 | 400 | Yes | First games for athletes with a disability held in same venue as Olympic games |
| 1952 | Stoke Mandeville | Spinal injury | 2 | 130 | No | First international games for athletes with a disability |
* Expected number
