Paralympic Games Officially Open

The London 2012 Paralympic Games were officially opened last night, with Great Britain’s first Paralympic gold medallist lighting the cauldron in front of the Queen, and 80,000 spectators packed into the Olympic Stadium.

84-year-old Margaret Maughan won gold at the 1960 Paralympic Games in Rome.

The opening ceremony signalled the start of 11 days of competition, with 4,200 athletes from 164 countries set to take part.

Eight members of the British under-22 wheelchair basketball team carried the Paralympic flag into the stadium, where it was raised by members of the armed forces, before the Queen declared the Games open.

British swimmer Liz Johnson, a medallist from Beijing 2008, wheelchair rugby judge Richard Allcroft and David Hunter, who is coaching the ParalympicsGB equestrian team, each stepped forward to take the official oaths on behalf of competitors and officials.

To close of the ceremony, 24-year-old Royal Marine Commando Joe Townsend – an aspiring Olympic triathlete who lost both legs while serving in Afghanistan – descended on a zip wire into the stadium from the top of the nearby Orbit tower. He handed the flame to David Clarke, a member of the ParlympicsGB five-a-side football team, who passed the torch to Ms Maughan.

Six Paralympians – including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson – were also flown into the stadium in golden wheelchairs.

Professor Hawking and actor Sir Ian McKellen played prominent roles in the ceremony, which also featured a host of deaf and disabled artists, local children and performers newly-trained in circus skills.

3,000 volunteers took part in the event, which organisers entitled Enlightenment and said was profoundly about science and humanity.

In a statement released before she opened the Games, the Queen said: ‘It is with tremendous pride that the people of London and the United Kingdom welcome the world to the London 2012 Paralympic Games. We look forward to celebrating the uplifting spirit which distinguishes the Paralympic Games from other events, drawing on Britain’s unique sporting heritage.’

It is the first time the monarch has officiated at the openings of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Wheelchair basketball, shooting, swimming and track cycling are among the events set to feature on the opening day.