Madrid 2016 Prepares To Stage “Greatest Paralympics”

Miguel Carballeda, President of the Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE), told the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Evaluation Commission that with Madrid hosting the 2016 Games "we would be able to celebrate the greatest Paralympic Games ever". He also outlined how Madrid was projecting the Olympic and Paralympic Games as a unique 60-day event, beginning with the day the Olympic Village opens and ending the day it closes.

According to the presentation, the Paralympic Games project would use a transversal concept in design and build. The installations, accommodation and transport have been designed for mass use and enjoyment - including spectators and athletes, those with and without disabilities alike - to bring life to the slogan "the Games with the Human Touch".

The "design for all" concept has been worked up by the CPE in association with Madrid 2016 to ensure complete integration into the whole bid and alongside the Madrid 2016 Foundation.

As for legacy, there was particular attention given to the high performance Paralympic Sports Centre, which would offer new opportunities not only to Paralympic athletes but also to all with any form of disability.

Hosting the 2016 Games would change the accommodation, installations and infrastructure of Madrid and change perceptions of disabled facilities throughout the world.

The Paralympic Games would be the most compact and most accessible ever with 15 sports in the Central Zone and four in the River Zone. Eighty five per cent of athletes would compete and live within a 5 km radius, with 75 per cent of all installations situated within the same radius and the Olympic Village 500 metres from the main stadium.

According to the presentation a commission would be responsible for co-ordinating all forms of transport to guarantee maximum efficient usage for all, including National Paralympic Committee delegations, Games representatives, Paralympic athletes' supporters and sporting federations.

The Olympic Village would have a double function - accommodation for athletes and representatives of the Games, and accommodation for technical personnel.

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