London 2012 Paralympic debrief to begin in Rio

Germany, Nov 20: The organizing committee of what International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Sir Philip Craven described as the best ever Paralympic Games will share their knowledge and experiences of London 2012 with future organizing committees and the 2020 candidate cities this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Starting on Wednesday (21 November), around 50 directors and department heads from the London 2012 Organizing Committee (LOCOG), British government and authorities will present for two days to an audience of 300 people in Rio, the host city of the next summer Paralympic Games in 2016.

Craven will kick off the debrief on Wednesday afternoon, giving his own views on the success of the Games. Rio 2016 President Carlos Arthur Nuzman will then outline his vision for the Paralympic Games in four years, before LOCOG CEO Paul Deighton and Director of Paralympic Integration Chris Holmes explain what LOCOG did to deliver the best Paralympic Games since their inception in 1960.

Apostolos Rigas, IPC’s Head of Knowledge Management, said: “The debrief is part of the IPC’s main knowledge programme, known as the Excellence Programme, which is being delivered by the IPC’s educational arm, the IPC Academy.

“The objective is to explore and discuss the opportunities the London 2012 experiences bring for the future, in order to maintain and build on the momentum of this summer.

“We are confident that this transfer of knowledge will enable host cities of future Paralympic Games, mainly Rio 2016, Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018 to optimise their plans, undertake new initiatives and build on the legacy of London 2012. In addition, bid cities for 2020 will have the chance to seek ways to apply these lessons to their own context.”

Subjects that will be covered in the debrief include: spectator experience; transport; communications; Paralympic integration; commercial, brand and marketing; Paralympic family; athletes, team officials and Games officials experience; ceremonies and torch relay. —- IPC