A year on from the Paralympic Games opinions on their legacy appear to be somewhat mixed. With so many fantastic disabled athletes from all over the world competing, there were huge hopes that it would leave a positive legacy with regard to disabled people and disability sport. However, disability charity Scope doesn’t believe that this is the case.
In his closing speech, Lord Coe stated that he believed the Games would lead to a genuine shift in attitudes towards disabled people. He said: “I don’t think people will ever see sport in the same way again. I don’t think they will ever see disability in the same way again.”
However, in a recent Scope survey of 1,000 disabled people, it was revealed that 81% believe there has been no improvement in public attitudes. In fact, 22% of people think attitudes have actually worsened and the majority of those consider the “benefit scrounger” term being used in the media to be a contributing factor to the negativity.
The Paralympic opening ceremony was a spectacular event with an array of colour, disabled dancers, Paralympic athletes and scientist Stephen Hawkings. The Paralympic coverage was shown on Channel 4 and even won a BAFTA for best sport and live event, which seemed a huge positive for sports and for disabled people in general.
Cuts to Disability Benefits
However the period of the Games also coincided with government moves to cut disability benefits and there were protests against the involvement of Atos, the company which ran the government’s capability to work assessment process at that time. This controversial programme determines the eligibility of people for disability allowance and decides whether people are fit to work. Disability campaigners believed that this was damaging and distressing for disabled people.
Inspiring a Generation
In terms of disability sports, there’s no doubt that the Games have led to many positives. Commentators now take elite disability sport seriously and there’s a stronger focus on disability sport in the media than there’s ever been. Top Paralympic athletes like wheelchair racers Hannah Cockroft and David Weir are now household names.
It was hoped that both the Olympic and Paralympic Games would ‘inspire a generation’. At the end of the games last year, Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson urged people to keep the positivity going, saying: “You can’t wait for someone else to do legacy, you’ve got to take a bit of responsibility for yourself.”
Encouraging a Positive Legacy
Many disabled people are still celebrating the positivity that has come from the Paralympics, including Martyn Sibley, co-editor of the online magazine Disability Horizons. He will be travelling in his electric wheelchair from John O’Groats to Land’s End for the Britain’s Personal Best project, which he states is to “help keep the legacy alive.”
Alexa Wilson from Wiltshire also believes the Paralympics have had a great effect. She has a 12-year-old daughter with autism and believes the Paralympics have helped improve her daughter’s experience at school. Alexa commented: “Rather than donating some shrubs to the sensory garden, which they did the year before last, they’re now suggesting doing something sporty – thanks to the Paralympics.”
What’s your view on the Paralympic legacy? Has it created lasting benefits for disability sport in your area? Did the Games succeed in changing attitudes towards disabled people?
