Paralympics start today
Baku, August 29 (AZERTAC). Today marks the opening of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. The Paralympic flame is working its way through the streets of London, on its way to the Opening Ceremonies of the 16th annual Paralympic Games today. The torch is traveling on a 92-mile route over 24 hours from Stoke Mandeville to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, East London. The Flame is being carried by teams of five torchbearers, a total of 580 people all named as participants due to inspirations acts.
The Games will run from August 29 through September 9. Nearly 2.5 million tickets have been sold for 21 sports in the Paralympics, and both Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the Olympic Stadium are a sellout. The Opening Ceremony takes place live at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. The start time in London is 8 p.m.
The 2012 London Paralympic Games will host an estimated 4,200 athletes from 166 countries. There will be 503 events in 21 sports held during the 2012 London Paralympic Games. There are 23 Paralympic venues this year. While most are located across London, venues outside the city include Brands Hatch (Road Cycling), Eton Dorney (Rowing), Weymouth and Portland (Sailing). It will be the second biggest sporting event in the world this year, watched by an estimated TV audience of 1.5 billion people.
First Paralympic Games were originally held in 1948 by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who organized a sporting competition involving World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries at the rehabilitiation hospital in Stoke Mandeville, England. The games started as part of a pioneering therapy helping veterans to develop their physical strength and develop self respect.
In 1952, the Netherlands joined in the games, creating the first International competition for the disabled. In 1960, the Ninth Stoke Mandeville Games were held in Rome, ITALY, following that year`s Olympic Games. These are considered to be the first the first Paralympic Games.
Azerbaijan will be represented by 21 disabled athletes, comprising of Huseyn Hasanov, Oleq Panyutin, Vladimir Zayets, Ulukhan Musayev, Elchin Muradov, Rza Osmanov, Madinat Abdullayeva, Samir Nabirov, Yelena Taranova, Akbar Muradov, Zinyat Valiyeva, Ramin İbrahimov, Bayram Mustafayev, Rovshan Safarov, Tofiq Mammadov, Kerim Sardarov, İlham Zakiyev, Afaq Sultanova, Natalia Pronina, Elshan Huseynov and Maharram Aliyev.
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