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The Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event for disabled athletes, held every four years, the same as Olympic Games years. There is also a winter version of the Paralympic Games.

The precursor to the Paralympic Games was an event organized in 1948 for Second World War veterans with spinal injuries. Seventy years on, the Paralympics is an integral part of the Olympic Games program, being hosted in the same city as the able-bodied Olympic Games, and a short time afterwards. See more history of the Paralympics.

There is a lighting ceremony at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, a tradition started for the London 2012 Paralympics. It is expected that the Paralympic Torch is lit at Stoke Mandeville Stadium before every Summer and Winter Paralympic Games.

Upcoming Paralympics

The next Paralympics will be the Summer Paralympics will be held in Paris 2024. The 2026 Winter Paralympics will be held in Milan Cortina.

More Information

• Athletes compete in classification categories, graded by severity. See Details of the Classification Categories
• There are currently 22 summer Paralympic sports. See Details of Sports on the Paralympic Program.
• Over 100 countries have participated at the Paralympic Games. See Details of Participating Countries, and results.
• Paralympic Athletes are generally not well-known, but some have achieved amazing results.
• Science and the Paralympics, a challenge for the sport scientist.

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Related Pages

• Winter Paralympic Games
• Summer Olympic Games
• Winter Olympic Games
• Parasports at the Commonwealth Games
• Paralympics Quiz
• Other major world sporting events
• Read the Olympics entries on the sporting blog.
• Some Olympic symbols and images in the clipart section.
• About the Special Olympics
• Olympic Games fun