Paralympic Flame created at Stoke Mandeville

With just four days to go before the Opening Ceremony, the Paralympic Flame for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games was created on Saturday (24 August) at Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of the Paralympic Movement.

During an hour-long event organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), ParalympicsGB and WheelPower with the support of Samsung, British Paralympians Helene Raynsford and Gregor Ewan created the Paralympic Flame in front of an audience of 250 invited guests.

Several dignitaries including IPC President Andrew Parsons, Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet, ParalympicsGB President Nick Webborn CBE, WheelPower patron and British Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, DL, and French Ambassador to the United Kingdom Hélène Duchêne attended the event.

Prior to the Paralympic Flame lighting, attendees witnessed the premiere of a short film which will play out at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony. Produced by Emmy Award winning Harder Than You Think the film highlights the evolution of the Paralympic Movement since its creation at Stoke Mandeville in 1948.

Speaking to Bucks Radio , IPC President Andrew Parsons stated the importance of celebrating Stoke Mandeville’s place in Paralympic history.

“For everyone involved in the Paralympic Movement, Stoke Mandeville represents sacred and cherished ground,” said Parsons. “It is here 76 years ago that the visionary pioneer Sir Ludwig Guttmann created the Paralympic Movement.

“By organising a sport event for 16 injured World War Two veterans – using Para sport as a form of rehabilitation – Guttmann started something very special.

“Through sport he created a transformational Movement that today has a profound impact globally, advancing the lives of millions of people with disabilities.

“Little did he know that what he created here in 1948 would go on to become one of the world’s biggest sport events. The Paralympic Games is now a spectacular showcase of sport, an event that attracts billions of global TV viewers, and the only worldwide event of impact which puts persons with disabilities front and centre.”

Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, said: “As we celebrate the lighting of the Paralympic Flame and the origins of the Paralympic Movement here in Stoke Mandeville, it’s exciting to know that the first-ever summer Paralympic Games in France are now just around the corner. Over the coming days, the Flame will travel all over France as we build towards an unprecedented opening ceremony on the Place de la Concorde – a symbolic venue in the heart of Paris that will set the tone for magical and meaningful Paralympic Games.  

“Just as we did for the Olympic Games, we are aiming to capture the world’s imagination. Our ambition is to take the Paralympic Games to a new level of global visibility and impact, by showcasing the Paralympians’ performances on an iconic stage, right at the centre of our society. These Games are a generational opportunity to transform ideas about disability in France, and to show ourselves, over 10 days, what it can be like to live in a more inclusive world.”

Nick Webborn CBE, ParalympicsGB President, said: “I’m thrilled that Stoke Mandeville is being recognised today as the source of the Flame here at the home of the Paralympics – ignited by athletes to then travel to Paris where we expect the city to host the best Paralympic Games yet. 

“Stoke Mandeville is a special place to me. Forty-three years ago I too came here after a spinal cord injury, also as an injured serviceman to the wooden huts of the National Spinal Injuries Unit. I started my journey of both recovery, and discovery, of the place of sport in rehabilitation and reintegration of disabled people into life and society. That summer in 1981 I also witnessed my first Stoke Mandeville Games and my love affair with the Paralympic movement was born. I’m proud to recognise the history and role of the Paralympic movement from its humble beginnings and a clear sense of purpose to third largest sport event in the world.”

Eleven-time Paralympic gold medallist Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE, DL said: “As a proud Paralympian and someone who grew up pushing and racing around the track here at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, I know for myself the importance of this place as the birthplace of the Paralympic Movement.  From the pioneering work of Sir Ludwig Guttmann at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and the use of sport to inspire disabled people to live active lives, the Paralympics he created continue to inspire the world to see what disabled people can achieve through sport.

“The Stoke Mandeville story and its legacy, symbolised by the Paralympic Flame, will travel with a message of peace, goodwill and hope for all the athletes and delegations in Paris to inspire the world.”

Jamie Park, VP & Head of Experience Marketing, Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics said: “As long-term partner of the Paralympic Games and supporter of the Paralympic Movement, we’re grateful to witness and support such a remarkable milestone for the community and its growth. We’re proud to partner with the International Paralympic Committee to present this film which celebrates the rich heritage and ethos that sits at the heart of the Paralympic Movement”

British Paralympians create the Paralympic Flame

The honour of creating the Paralympic Flame at Stoke Mandeville fell to two British Paralympians, Beijing 2008 Paralympic rowing champion Helene Raynsford PLY and three-time Paralympian in wheelchair curling Gregor Ewan.

Raynsford, the first ever Paralympic gold medallist in Para rowing, said: “It’s an honour to light the Paralympic Flame here in Stoke Mandeville. As a Paralympian and as Chair of the Athlete Commission we are so proud of the history of the Paralympic movement and Stoke Mandeville’s role in that but also so very excited about where the forthcoming Paralympics in Paris. There will undoubtedly be fantastic sport right across the city which I can’t wait to see.”

Ewan, who has competed in every Paralympic Winter Games since Sochi 2014, said: “I feel the weight of the athletes who have competed before us and those that will come after us. The Paralympic movement is a special movement and one that I am proud to have played my part in.”

Saturday’s event marked the first time the Paralympic Flame has been created at Stoke Mandeville since the London 2012 Paralympic Games. From Paris 2024 onwards, the Paralympic Flame will always be created at Stoke Mandeville as part of efforts by the IPC, ParalympicsGB, and WheelPower to increase global awareness of the role Stoke Mandeville and Sir Ludwig Guttmann played in the birth and development of the Paralympic Movement. 

Following the lighting of the Paralympic Flame, the first torchbearer of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Torch Relay was IPC President Andrew Parsons who ran a short circuit of the Stoke Mandeville athletics track.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Torch Relay, which will be known as the “Forerunners Relay”, will begin in earnest on Sunday (25 August). The Flame will pass from the United Kingdom to France through the Channel Tunnel. Twenty-four British torchbearers will symbolically embark on the journey through the tunnel and handover the flame at the halfway point to 24 French Para torchbearers who will carry the Paralympic Flame into France.

When the Paralympic Flame arrives in Calais, it will multiply into 12 separate flames symbolising the 12-day duration of France’s first Paralympic Games. These flames will spread to the outskirts of France before no fewer than 1,200 Forerunners take part in 12 simultaneous relays covering around 50 towns. The relays will converge on Paris on 28 August, where the Paralympic Cauldron will be lit at the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony.