Umbrella coverage for £17m Paralympics extravaganza

News Reporter

Thursday 30 August 2012

THE London Paralympic Games got under way last night amid a blizzard of colour and a tribute to Britain's scientific heritage that succeeded in deflecting attention from a scare over the late-running torch relay.

POPULAR: A busy crowd watched the opening ceremony.

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Helen McArdle

An 80,000 sell-out crowd at London's Olympic Stadium, and millions of television viewers around the world, watched as the "spectacular and deeply human" £17 million opening ceremony started with a fireworks display.

The area was initially bathed in a haunting blue light before hundreds of dancers with vibrantly glowing umbrellas converged on a huge umbrella in the centre of the stadium – to the tune of Rihanna's number one hit Umbrella.

This homage to the UK's fickle weather continued as each of the 164 participating nations were led into the stadium by representatives carrying umbrellas.World-famous scientist Professor Stephen Hawking, who suffers motor neurone disease, appeared in the opening sequence under a huge glowing model of the moon and spoke of the quest to understand the universe.Using his speech generating device, Mr Hawking told the audience: "The Paralympic Games is about transforming our perception of the world. "We are all different. There is no such thing as a standard or run-of-the-mill human being but we share the same human spirit. What is important is that we have the ability to create."In the event's storyline – based on a journey of scientific discovery – he acted as a guide to Miranda, from William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Actor Sir Ian McKellen took on the part of Prospero, another character from the play.Six Paralympians, including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, were flown into the stadium in gold wheelchairs, while double amputee Afghan war veteran Joe Townsend flew in on a zip wire to light the flame.The Queen made a more straightforward entrance – compared to the Olympics opening ceremony, when she was "parachuted" in by helicopter – as she watched flanked by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, and Olympics organiser Lord Coe.Other VIPs present included Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson.Based on the theme Enlightenment, Billy Elliott director Stephen Daldry's ceremony invited people on an "exquisite journey of discovery inspired by the wonder of science" and to "be curious". Organisers said they also wanted to pay tribute to the achievements of those taking part in the 14th running of the event. It included a flypast by Aerobility, a British charity that trains disabled people to become pilots.The ceremony came 17 days after the curtain fell on the London 2012 Olympics and signalled the start of 11 days of competition by more than 4000 athletes from 165 countries – including 27 Scots.There was a late panic as the Paralympic torch relay looked to be running two hours behind schedule as it made its way past London landmarks, including the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square and Abbey Road.A standby flame was dispatched, although organisers insisted it was only on hand as a contingency. Former Paralympian Caroline Baird, from Carnoustie, Angus, and disability sports worker Katherine Forrester, from Howgate, Midlothian, were among the 580 disabled and non-disabled torch-bearers who carried the flame in the closing stages of the relay.More than 2.4 million tickets have already been sold – including half a million to overseas visitors – making the London event the most successful Paralympics ever.Mr Cameron said: "We can be very proud that more Paralympians are taking part in more sports, in more stadia, watched by more people than at any time in the past."It's been a sell-out and that is a great story for our country. It will inspire a lot of people and change people's views about disability and that is absolutely crucial."UK Sport and the British Paralympic Association have set a minimum target of 103 medals this time from at least 12 sports, including swimming, athletics and rowing.Britain finished second in the medals table at the 2008 Games in Beijing, winning 42 golds, 29 silvers and 31 bronzes. China were top with 211 medals, of which 89 were gold. Malawi withdrew from the 2012 Paralympics yesterday due to lack of funding, leaving its visually impaired sprinters Chisomo Jeremani and Janet Shedani unable to compete. The country now faces the prospect of sanctions by the International Paralympic Committee for quitting at short notice.

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Umbrella coverage for £17m Paralympics extravaganza

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