No. 49 – Growth of the Paralympic Movement secured

“The agreements secure the continued growth of the movement and our members. Since 1988 we have benefited from using the same venues, infrastructure and levels of detailed planning as the Olympic Games and through this agreement it will continue through to at least 2020."

Editor’s Note: For the final 50 days of the 2012, the IPC will count down the year’s top moments in Paralympic sport, culminating with the year’s best moment on 31 December.

The 50 moments were selected by nominations from National Paralympic Committees and International Federations and are based on sport performance, emotional moments, media attraction and athletes’ personal stories.

The IPC would also like to call on the public to submit their own nominations for what they believe was the top Paralympic moment of 2012. They can do so by emailing ipc.media@paralympic.org, or by leaving a comment on www.Facebook.com/ParalympicGames or sending a tweet to @Paralympic.

In a year of glittering sporting action which captured the world’s imagination, many may not consider two men signing an agreement as one of the year’s top moments.

However, no-one should under estimate what impact the new IPC IOC Co-operation Agreement, signed by the Presidents of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Sir Philip Craven and Jacques Rogge in July, will have on the growth of the Paralympic Movement.

The new agreement, signed at the 124th IOC session in London extends the practice of “one bid, one city” and ensures the Paralympic Games will be held in the same city as the Olympic Games through until 2020 when the Games will be staged in either Istanbul, Madrid or Tokyo.

Speaking shortly after he had signed the Co-operation Agreement on behalf of the Paralympic Movement, IPC President Sir Philip Craven said: “This is excellent news for the Paralympic Movement.

“The agreements secure the continued growth of the movement and our members. Since 1988 we have benefited from using the same venues, infrastructure and levels of detailed planning as the Olympic Games and through this agreement it will continue through to at least 2020.

“We are grateful to the IOC for their continued and growing support. Without them the Paralympic Games would not have grown to the superb sporting spectacle it is today. By working together over the coming years we can continue to deliver a 60-day global celebration of sport.”

As part of the agreement the IPC will receive an increase in funding from the IOC and the two parties have identified new IOC programmes and activities which the IPC could participate in, including IF development, IOC Olympic Solidarity and Transfer of Knowledge. The Parties also agreed to discuss further areas and projects of mutual interest and collaboration. In particular this includes further co-operation in the commercial area and to explore the benefits of a closer co-operation on the Games planning and delivery functions.

With the Movement’s future secure until 2020 at least, the job of building on the success of Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 can begin in earnest.