Paralympics opening ceremony 2012
The symbol of the Paralympic Games is composed of three "agitos", coloured red, blue, and green, encircling a single point, on a white field. The agito ("I move" in Latin) is a symbol of movement in the shape of an asymmetrical crescent. The Paralympic symbol was created by the Scholz & Friends agency and approved in April 2003.
The colours of the agitos with the white background stand for the three colours that are most widely represented in national flags around the world. The three agitos encircle a centre point, to emphasize "the role that the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has of bringing athletes from all corners of the world together and enabling them to compete". The shape also symbolises the Paralympic vision "To Enable Paralympic Athletes to Achieve Sporting Excellence and to Inspire and Excite the World".
This Paralympic symbol was first used in publications and other products in 2003. Due to limited time before the 2004 Paralympic Summer Games in Athens, the new symbol was not used by participating delegations during the Games. At the 2004 Closing Ceremony however, the flag that was handed over to Beijing had the new symbol. The symbol was first used in a Paralympic emblem at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Torino.
The statue of a naked, pregnant woman Ms Lapper with no arms was first unveiled on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth September 2005
Artist Marc Quinn
Ms Lapper, from Shoreham, West Sussex, sat for the artist when she was eight months pregnant.
Sir Ian McKellen, in the guise of Prospero
Channel 4 : Think Paralympics? Think 4?
29th August - 9th September
