Standing in Cortina d’Ampezzo at the start of the Winter Paralympic Games this week, surrounded by athletes, officials and supporters from across the world, I was reminded once again why the Paralympic movement matters so profoundly.
There are sporting events that entertain us.
There are sporting events that inspire us.
And then there are the Paralympic Games, which do something even more powerful: they change how the world thinks.
The Winter Paralympics, now in their fourteenth edition, have already delivered extraordinary moments of skill, courage and determination. The atmosphere in Cortina is electric. Athletes are pushing the limits of what is physically possible, racing down mountains at breathtaking speed, competing with intensity and grace, and demonstrating a level of resilience that commands admiration.
But the Paralympics have always been about more than medals.
A movement that changed the world
For many people in the United Kingdom, the real turning point came during the remarkable summer of the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
Those Games transformed public attitudes. Stadiums were packed. Television audiences reached hundreds of millions. And athletes who had too often been overlooked were suddenly recognised as elite competitors and role models.
What happened in London was not simply a successful sporting event. It was a cultural shift.
The Paralympic Games captured the imagination of the public in a way the world had rarely seen before. People began to see disability sport not through the lens of limitation, but through the lens of excellence.
Every Paralympic Games since has built on that legacy. Standards of performance have continued to rise, the movement has grown in confidence, and public appreciation has deepened across the globe.
The power of sport to transform lives
My own involvement here in Cortina comes through the City of London Corporation’s partnership with ParalympicsGB, a relationship of which we are immensely proud.
The partnership reflects something simple but deeply important: a belief in the transformative power of sport.
Sport connects people.
It builds resilience.
It strengthens communities.
And it changes lives.
Across London and the South East, the City Corporation helps maintain more than 11,000 acres of open space, from Hampstead Heath to Epping Forest and Burnham Beeches.
Within those landscapes are hundreds of opportunities for people to play sport and be active: cricket pitches, football and rugby fields, tennis courts, athletics tracks, golf courses, swimming facilities and cross country courses.
Each year we invest tens of millions of pounds to maintain these spaces, largely from the City’s own endowments and at no cost to the taxpayer.
But facilities alone are not enough. The true power of sport lies in participation and inclusion.
Why the Paralympic movement matters
The genius of the Paralympic movement is that it expands the boundaries of who sport is for.
When people see athletes who look like them competing at the highest level, achieving extraordinary things, something powerful happens. Possibilities widen. Confidence grows. Young people begin to believe that they too belong in sport.
That is why the work of the International Paralympic Committee and national bodies like ParalympicsGB is so important.
They are not simply organising competitions.
They are changing perceptions.
And in doing so they are helping to build a sporting culture that is more inclusive, more ambitious and more representative of society as a whole.
Expanding what the world believes is possible
As these Games unfold in the magnificent setting of the Italian Dolomites, athletes from across the world are writing the next chapter in the story of the Paralympic movement.
They are racing down mountains at astonishing speed.
They are competing with extraordinary precision and courage.
And they are reminding all of us that human potential is far greater than we sometimes imagine.
For millions watching around the world, these Games will do more than provide moments of sporting brilliance.
They will inspire disabled children to take up sport.
They will challenge outdated assumptions about ability.
And they will encourage communities, clubs and sporting bodies to make participation genuinely open to everyone.
Somewhere, after watching these Games today, a young person will decide to try a sport for the first time. One day, that same young person might become a Paralympian themselves.
That is the real legacy of the Paralympic movement.
The City of London is proud to support that movement and proud to stand alongside ParalympicsGB and the International Paralympic Committee as it continues to grow.
Because the Paralympics do something remarkable.
They do not simply celebrate what elite athletes can achieve.
They expand what the world believes is possible.
C. E. Lord is the City of London’s Lead Member for Sport and Deputy Chair of its Natural Environment Board which provides strategic oversight of the Corporation’s 11,000 acres of public open space.
C. E. Lord OBE 