“The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome, Italy in 1960. There were 400 athletes from 23 countries. The Paralympic Games are now the 2nd biggest sporting event in the world.”
In 1989, the International Paralympic Committee was founded as an international non-profit organisation to act as the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement.
Since the Summer Games of Seoul, Korea in 1988 and the Winter Games in Albertville, France in 1992 the Paralympic Games have also taken part in the same cities and venues as the Olympics due to an agreement between the IPC and IOC.
“The word Paralympic derives from the Greek preposition para (beside or alongside) and the word Olympic. Its meaning is that Paralympics are the parallel Games to the Olympics and illustrates how the two movements exist side-by-side.”