Queen to Open London 2012 Paralympic Games

With six months to go to the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games, order the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) have confirmed that Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, will open the London 2012 Paralympic Games in the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday 29 August.

With the role of The Queen in the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday 27 July already established, The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, will now open both Games. As Head of State, The Queen will proclaim the Paralympic Games open by saying: ‘I declare open the London 2012 Paralympic Games’.

This will be the first time The Queen has opened a Paralympic Games. In 1976 the Queen opened the Montreal Olympic Games and in 1956 The Duke of Edinburgh (on behalf of The Queen) opened the Melbourne Olympic Games.

The 1984 Paralympic Games were officially opened by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. These Games were held in both Europe and North America, with the Opening Ceremony in Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire – the birthplace of the Paralympic Games.

LOCOG Chair Seb Coe said: “This summer we will be hosting the largest Paralympic Games ever and the Opening Ceremony on 29 August will be a fantastic event. The Paralympic Games will undoubtedly be a time of extraordinary pride for our nation, and it is fitting that Her Majesty will declare us underway.”

International Paralympic Committee President Sir Philip Craven added: “I am delighted that Her Majesty The Queen will be opening the Paralympic Games, further underlining the significance and status of these Games not just to the Commonwealth but to the whole world.”

by Ismail Uddin