Egypt's athletes return to the site of the Olympics for the start of the 2012 Paralympics, Abeer Anwar reports With loads of enthusiasm and fighting spirit, Egypt's physically handicapped travelled to London with high hopes of garnering at least 20 medals, more than making up for the disappointing two silver medal haul in the recently concluded Olympic Games. The Paralympic athletes are also hoping to do better than the 12 medals they won in Beijing four years ago. The Egyptian Paralympic delegation -- 15 powerlifters, a sitting volleyball team, an eight-athlete table tennis squad and six track and field athletes -- were welcomed by newly elected Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi who promised to raise the bonuses of those who win medals even more than their able-bodied compatriots in the Olympics. Mursi added that he had been following their performance and was very impressed by them. He said they were sending a message to the whole world that "Egypt and Egyptians are still here and they are better than before and that Egypt is a safe place to visit." The Paralympians promised to do their utmost to raise Egypt's flag and sing the Egyptian anthem more than once on the podium." El-Amri Farouk, newly appointed minister of sports, promised to soon issue new regulations that give equal opportunities to Paralympians to practice sports. Egypt collected eight medals in the Seoul Paralympics of 1988: one gold, two silver and five bronze. In Barcelona 1992, Egypt raised its medals tally to 20: seven gold, six silver and seven bronze. In Atlanta 1996, Egyptians collected 30 medals, their largest number ever: eight gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze. In the Sydney Paralympics in 2000, Egypt ranked 23rd with total of 28 medals: six gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze. In Athens 2004, Egypt collected 23 medals: six gold, nine silver and eight bronze. In Beijing 2008, Egypt notched 12 medals: four gold, four silver and four bronze Yesterday's opening ceremony was entitled 'Enlightment'. "It is a fitting name as I am sure the cumulative TV audience of four billion that will watch the Games, as well as the spectators in the stadiums, will be enlightened by the stunning performances of all 4,280 athletes who take part in London 2012," IPC President Sir Philip Craven said." The London 2012 Paralympic Games will take place between 29 August and 9 September and will see the Paralympic movement return to the country of its spiritual birthplace. They will be the biggest Paralympic Games ever featuring 4,280 athletes from 166 countries who will compete in 20 sports. The London 2012 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games' (LOCOG) vision is that rather than making them different from previous Paralympics, they want to take the best aspects of previous Games and bring them together. Mandeville, who is named after Stoke Mandeville Hospital, the spiritual home of the Paralympic Movement, is the Paralympic mascot and has been actively involved in Get Set, London 2012's education programme. International Paralympic Committee President Sir Philip Craven has told the world to prepare to be amazed ahead of the start of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. "All the ingredients are there for the best Paralympic Games ever," said Sir Philip. "We've had record ticket sales at over 2.4 million, record broadcast deals, more athletes and countries competing than ever before, and 2,500 accredited media, 2,000 of which are international. People from all around the world want to come to this great city for these great games. Everything is set for a great Paralympic Games." He added: "The word that will probably be most used by people is 'surprise'. They'll just be surprised about the level of athletic performance. Just soak up the sport, enjoy yourselves, and you'll be amazed." LOCOG Chairman Sebastian Coe echoed Sir Philip's sentiments, saying the record ticket sales demonstrate unprecedented levels of interest created by the London Paralympics. "This is not a country that's going to sit this one out," said Coe. "We've also concluded 10 more broadcast arrangements around the world, meaning there'll be coverage in over 100 countries. That's a fantastic way to go into the Paralympics." The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has also announced the five individuals who will be inducted into the Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame during the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Athletes Chris Holmes, Trischa Zorn, Louise Sauvage and Roberto Marson �ê" who have 100 Paralympic medals between them �ê" will be inducted today, along with Paralympian turned coach Frank Ponta. Launched in 2006, by founding partner Visa, the Paralympic Hall of Fame aims to recognise retired athletes and coaches who have a track record of excellent athletic performance, history of fair play and participation in community activities. London 2012 Paralympics by the numbers: 11 days of thrilling competition 20 sports will be contested at the Paralympics 4,280 athletes will compete in London 166 countries will take part in the Games 503 gold medals up for grabs 780 hours of sporting action to be live streamed via www.paralympic.orgwww.paralympic.org/p 2005 year London was named host city of the Games 580 torchbearers will carry the Paralympic flame during a 24-hour overnight relay to London 1,000 hours of video on demand will be made available from the Games on www.paralympic.orgwww.paralympic.org/p 750 stories will be uploaded to www.paralympic.orgwww.paralympic.orgduring the Paralympics, including sport previews and reviews, in addition to athlete profiles and features 16,000 beds have been installed across the Paralympic Village 80,000 capacity of Olympic Stadium 19 venues will hold all the sporting action 1,250 samples to be analysed at the anti-doping lab during the Paralympics 3,000 adult volunteers will be a part of the opening ceremony 6 grams of gold will make up the London 2012 Paralympic gold medals 6,000 media will be in London to cover the Games live 4 billion people are expected to tune in around the world to watch the Paralympics.
