The 2012 Paralympics are open!

Two weeks ago, we said goodbye to the 2012 Olympics in an amazing closing ceremony and the success stories were paraded across various TV shows and papers with  the main parade still to come on Sept 10th.

Now is the time to shine for the Paralympics and despite some criticism on the coverage from those who don't realise the budget gap between Channel 4 and BBC, the coverage of the ceremony in my view wasn't perfect but wasn't too bad either. The main negative was the slight lack of enthusiasm in the countries entrances when compared to the excitable commentary of BBC''s Olympics. But the setup of channels and online videos and pictures really made up for the negative.

As for the ceremony itself, it began with a speech by Professor Stephen Hawking who inspired the audience with the words ' Look up at the stars, and not down at your feet. The world did just that and saw a star studded three and a half hours which featured a flypast by Aerobility (a charity that trains disabled pilots), a choir of 430 singers and a giant Newton's apple.

Professor Hawking's appearance came ahead of the 'Big Bang' scene to act as a aid to Miranda who became the theme of the show based on the character from Shakespeare's The Tempest. He added to his earlier words with yet another inspirational line, 'Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.' 

Star of stage and screen Sir Ian McKellen added to the emotion and inspiration of the night with reference to 'the beautiful diversity of humanity'  which was clear to see in the crowds and athletes who paraded into the stadium later on. The appearance of the Queen raised the biggest roar of the crowd as she was introduced alongside Prince Edward and IPC president Sir Philip Craven

A mix of disabled and able bodied performers created a fantastic routine to the sound of Rhianna's Umbrella, a song which many believe caused the floods which ravaged the UK weeks after the songs release in 2008. This time the rain stayed away and allowed the athletes to parade from each of the 164 competing countries in dry weather with the crescendo being the entry of ParalympicsGB who appeared to a rapturous roar from the stadium.

This was followed by Lord Coe 'welcoming home' the Paralympics after its inception at Stoke Mandeville in 1948 and told the masses to be prepare to be dazzled and to be moved. This led to the official opening of the games by the Queen which set off a stunning sequence of fireworks with the conclusion of the ceremony staged by an aerial wheelchair show from six Paralympics including Dame Tanni-Grey Thompson.

Professor Hawkings final words paid tribute to the athletes, 'The Paralympic Games is about transforming our perception of the world. We are all different, there is no such thing as a standard or run-of-the-mill human being, but we share the same human spirit.The Games provide an opportunity for athletes to excel, to stretch themselves and become outstanding in their field. So let us together celebrate excellence, friendship, and respect. Good luck to you all.' The speech proved that no matter who we are we are all different and can all excel in certain fields we never thought possible.

The lighting of the Cauldron began with a stellar zip-line entry from Royal Marine Joe Townsend who is an athlete for the future and is hoping to compete at Rio 2016. Joe brought the torch down from the Orbit Tower then via David Clarke (the longest serving member of the Men's blind 5-a side football team) it was passed to the Margaret Maughan, the first Paralympic gold medallist for Great Britain,she lit the beautiful sculpture and fireworks lit up the city to start what will hopefully be a successful medal haul for Great Britain