Two Years to Go to London 2012 Paralympics

Today, the London Organizing Committee for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) celebrates the two-year countdown to the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games with activities in and around London.

730 days before the opening of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, LOCOG is calling upon the UK public to start planning their Games.

There are many ways the public can get involved and be part of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Over 1.6 million people have already registered their details on www.tickets.london2012.com with particular interest amongst young people in Goalball and Boccia.

The London 2012 Games Maker volunteer programme launched on 27 July 2010. Around a third of the 70,000 London 2012 Games Makers will help stage the Paralympic Games. Those interested in volunteering roles can go to www.london2012.com/volunteering to find everything they need to help them decide if they have what it takes to be a London 2012 Games Maker.

The volunteering programme is inclusive and applications are welcome from across all communities. Deaf and people with a disability are actively being sought.

Initiatives happening all over the country are giving the UK public plenty of scope to plan how to get involved. With London 2012’s education programme ‘Get Set’ now reaching over 14,000 schools, young people across the country are engaging in activities and projects linked to Paralympic sports and values in preparation for the Games in 2012.

To celebrate two years to go, Chris Holmes, LOCOG’s Director for Paralympic Integration and Britain’s most successful individual Paralympic swimmer – with nine gold medals – joined the London 2012 Paralympic mascot Mandeville at the ParalympicsGB training camp in Bath yesterday. They observed the progress of top UK Paralympic athletes as they prepare for the Games.

Mandeville will also make an appearance at the official London 2012 shop in Kings Cross St Pancras on Monday 30 August to launch the new range of Mandeville products. And Channel 4, the Paralympic broadcaster in the UK, will start its Paralympic programming. The London 2012 mascot website is hosting an online competition to promote Paralympic football.

Channel 4 will launch its 90 minute show “Inside Incredible Athletes” tonight at 9pm UK time, focusing on eight Paralympic athletes from five Paralympic sports and introducing viewers to the ability, stamina and skill required to perform at an elite level. On 30 August, Channel 4 will broadcast a two hour highlights package of the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships.

Sainsbury's, the Tier One Partner of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, will this weekend reveal a famous Paralympic gold medal winning athlete as their first Paralympic ambassador. Sainsbury’s will also launch Mandeville products at 78 stores across the UK to promote the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Other LOCOG partners like Omega, British Telecom and John Lewis also joined in the celebrations with various activities.

The Paralympic Games in the summer of 2012 will see elite Paralympic sport take place over 12 days, with more than 150 nations competing in 20 Paralympic sports. There will be 500 sporting events across 21 disciplines taking place in 20 different competition venues in London and across the UK.