County paralympian opens London fan-zone and hails event's progress

In the UK, six official fan zone sites have been opened for the event, where people can enjoy the Paris Games and cheer on home grown athletes.

Shropshire's own Danielle Brown MBE, from Shawbirch, opened the site at Battersea Power Station in London alongside Tokyo 2020 wheelchair rugby gold medallist, Kylie Grimes.

Danielle won gold in archery in Beijing 2008 and then retained her title on home soil in London 2012.

She said that in just four years, she noticed a drastic change in how the Paralympics was promoted.

She said: “After I won in Beijing 2008 I did two media interviews. There was a two-minute segment about the Paralympics on the news and archery got about 30 seconds of that.

"When I won in London 2012, I had two full days of media interviews. The Paralympics was no longer an afterthought, but a serious competition where athletic ability was seen and celebrated. Since then, the Paralympics has grown into a more respected and well-known competition and it’s brilliant experiencing the excitement around Paris.”

London 2012 left an impressive legacy. For the first time in the history of the Games, it was positioned as a high performance sporting event which focused on sporting excellence rather than disability.

From there, the Paralympic movement has gone from strength to strength.

Rio 2016 broke viewing records, with more than 4.1 billion people tuning in to watch around the globe.

Tokyo 2020 was set to be bigger and better, but athletes competed in empty stadiums due to restrictions around the Covid-19 pandemic.

The organising committee for Paris 2024 promised it would be the best games yet, and so far they are delivering it.

More than two million tickets have been sold to watch athletes compete in 22 sports, and the opening ceremony that took place against the backdrop of the Champs-Elysées broke viewing records.

Importantly, it championed some spectacular disabled performers and boldly highlighted the inequalities faced by disabled people all over the world.

Another striking step forward is the education around the way we think about disability – athletes are not participating in the Games, they are competing in them.

Danielle thinks this is a significant change.

She said: “It’s very disheartening when you become the best in the world at something, and then you’re given a pat on the head and told ‘well done for trying’. Paralympic athletes are awesome at what they do, they work hard and they deserve to have their achievements recognised. Thankfully, outdated views like this are beginning to change as the Paralympic movement continues to grow.”

She added that seeing more disabled role models both in and out of sport is one of the factors driving this understanding.

She said: “I grew up only able to name one person with a disability, which was Stephen Hawking. This lack of visibility changes what you believe you can do and I spent most my teenage years worrying that I would be passed over for opportunities because I was disabled. It also changes how other people see it too. If you aren’t exposed to disability it can be easy to make assumptions about what people can and can’t achieve, which in turns affects the way we treat people.

“We need to remember that not everybody wants to be a Paralympian. Sport is just one avenue that people can take and it should be open to everybody who wants to access it. Part of this is being able to see disabled athletes and making those role models more visible. Whilst more disabled people are getting recognition we still need to do more. There is a large gap in how easy it is to access para sport through the media and other channels. Unless the Paralympics are on it doesn’t get the same coverage as many other sports or competitions.”

The topic is close to Danielle’s heart. She retired from competitive sport in 2015 and is now an inclusion champion and award-winning children’s author.

She writes about strong female role models, encouraging young people to dream big, think differently and push through barriers.

An updated edition of her award-winning book, Run Like A Girl, was released in July.

It features a collection of biographical stories of female athletes from around the world, from 800m queen Keely Hodgkinson to record-breaking Simone Biles and fearless skateboarder Sky Brown.

Their sporting journeys show children that there are many ways to succeed, that failing can teach us just as much as winning and success isn’t limited to the sports field. And, of course, within the incredible line up she has included several disabled athletes.

She said: “Choosing just 50 athletes to include was really tough, but I wanted to show the amazing variety of sports, athletes and pathways. Often, when you see the ‘hot favourite’ lists it focuses on able-bodied athletes rather than a mix, but these stories can and should be included together. We can all draw inspiration and learn lessons from inpiring athletes regardless of whether they have a disability or not.”

When asked if she spotlighted any ‘ones to watch’ in Paris 2024 Danielle said: “About 10 of the athletes in Run Like A Girl have a disability. Some are retired, some are currently competing, and some aren’t Paralympians at all. That’s the beauty of sport! Looking at Paris, I will be supporting all the athletes representing ParalympicsGB of course, but from the book my top picks are Hannah Cockroft because she’s awesome! Her track record speaks for itself and her honest approach to her performance is refreshing. Another athlete I’m in awe of is Oksana Masters who has won Paralympic medals in four different sports for Team USA. Being good in one sport is hard enough, but Oksana takes it to another level completely.”

London 2012 changed the way the world saw disability sport and twelve years later we are seeing the lasting impact of this, with greater inclusivity, increased global participation and better coverage.

Danielle said: "The appetite to watch para sport is there. It’s exciting and there are some great personalities to be inspired by. I really encourage you to give it a watch, support our athletes and keep important conversations about disability going. Ultimately, that’s how we’re going to break down barriers.”