Last night performers, athletes and spectators welcomed the world back to London for the 2012 Paralympic Games.

The spectacular Opening Ceremony, created by artistic directors Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings, saw Professor Stephen Hawking and actor Sir Ian McKellen introduce scenes exploring the theme of “Enlightenment” and showcasing the world’s leading deaf and disabled artists.

During the ceremony, more than 3,000 participants brought Sir Isaac Newton’s garden, the Large Hadron Collider and the Big Bang to life in a celebration of science and its capacity to change perceptions.

London-based performers and groups made a special impact throughout the night. “Principia”, an emotional choral composition, was sung by six London based choirs: the Hackney Community Choir, Barts Choir, the London Gay Men’s Chorus, the Hackney Singers, the London Chorus, and the Lewisham Choral Society. You can enjoy these volunteer choirs throughout the year across London, and each have performances coming up in the next few months.

The Graeae Theatre Company, based only a few miles from the Olympic Stadium in Hackney, performed an explosive cover of Ian Dury and The Blockheads’ “Spasticus Artisticus”. The company champions the inclusion of deaf and disabled performers in the arts thorough new plays and training initiatives. Graeae and their incredible sway poles can be seen this September in The Garden, part of Unlimited Festival at Southbank Centre.

Also appearing at Unlimited Festival, leading disabled dancer David Toole performed a solo dance while 16-year-old singer-songwriter Birdy performed “Bird Gerhl”. In perhaps the most stunning moment of the night, David ascended into the air supported by wires and “flew” above a stadium floor packed with the world’s Paralympians. You can see the incredible David Toole in a brand new work, The Impending Storm, on 7 and 8 September at the Southbank Centre.

Did you enjoy the London 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony? Let us know what you thought in the comments section below.

This weekend’s a corker: the Paralympic Games have arrived, St Paul’s is open late and Kings Cross is staging a festival with a truly delicious concept.

Summer Lates at St Paul’s Cathedral
Take advantage of extended opening hours and free entry at St Paul’s Cathedral on selected nights during the Paralympic Games. Sir Christopher Wren‘s English Baroque masterpiece tends to invoke hushed awe, so it’s appropriate that the Summer Lates openings are intended for quiet reflection. Guides and priests will be on hand to  explain the cathedral’s history and spiritual life, while organ notes drift around you. The cathedral floor will be open from 6pm until 9pm with a short service at 8.45pm, and the cool underground crypt will be selling “Best of British” refreshments until 10pm.
31 Aug, 3 Sep and 7 Sep

London Live at Trafalgar Square
As the Paralympic Games take the stage in the UK’s sporting summer, BT London Live has moved its site offering free London 2012 celebrations to Trafalgar Square. You’ll be able to try out Paralympic sports like sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis, chill out to live music or watch coverage of the Paralympics on a giant screen. It’s free entry and unticketed – just turn up.
Until 9 Sep

King’s Cross Ice Cream Festival
The organisers of the King’s Cross Ice Cream festival don’t just want you to eat the cool white stuff. They’re calling on ice cream fans to get hands on with the creative process, from milking a cow at the petting farm to experimenting with the latest nitrogen technologies to whip up some frozen delights. The festival is being held in the new Granary Square in Kings Cross and will showcase the best local ice creams from London and the South East.
1-2 Sep

Bowiefest at the ICA
The first ever festival dedicated to David Bowie’s film career will touch down at the Institute of Contemporary Arts this weekend for screenings, talks and a Bowie themed party on the opening night. Re-aquiant yourself with cult classics from the 1970s and 1980s like Labyrinth, where Bowie played Jareth the goblin king, alongside a cast of puppets from Muppets creator Jim Henson. 
31 Aug-2 Sep

Chelsea AutoLegends
Classic cars will take over Royal Hospital Chelsea‘s grounds on Sunday, as the third Chelsea AutoLegends event brings motoring fever to west London. The bill includes supercar and rally car parades and the chance to meet celebrities like five-times Le Mans winner Derek Bell. One exciting addition is the festival’s new celebration of women in motorsport, fronted by model and race driver Jodie Kidd. Another highlight will be seeing Bloodhound SCC, a car that looks like a rocket with good reason: its team are trying to break the elusive 1000mph speed barrier.
2 Sep

Got another event to add to our list? Add it in the comments below.

Paralympic sport was celebrated in Trafalgar Square yesterday as Paralympic athletes showcased the 20 Paralympic sports of the 2012 Games, including Wheelchair Basketball, Powerlifting and Wheelchair Rugby.

Paralympic tickets are on sale now until 26 September 2011, so don’t miss your chance to see these exciting sports next year.

Photos by Mark Baynes.

The schedule and ticket prices for the London 2012 Paralympic Games were released today, with tickets starting from just £10 (or £5 for concessions).

With events ranging from Paralympic Track Cycling to Wheelchair Rugby, the Paralympic Games will welcome the world’s best Paralympic athletes to London. The Games will showcase some of London’s best sporting venues, including the brand new Olympic Park.

If you are a resident of the UK or a designated European country, you can apply for tickets between 9 and 26 September. If you’re not a UK resident you can apply for tickets via your local National Paralympic Committee or Authorised Ticket Reseller from 9 September.

For full details visit www.tickets.london2012.com

The chance to volunteer at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is too good to miss for many, including it seems TV star Ralf Little.

Speaking to The Bolton News, the star of The Royle Family and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps said:

“At the Paralympics they will need hundreds and hundreds of volunteers to help with all kinds of competitions.

“I will sign up. I will definitely look into trying to do something with the volunteering. There is not another way to get better experience of the Paralympics.”

Little added: “This is the catch-22 because once you see it first-hand and get involved you are hooked.”

The 30 year-old first became interested in volunteering when a friend asked him to help out as a marshal at the British Short Course Swimming Championships in Sheffield last year.

He said: “I did not know much about disability sport, but being there got rid of a lot of preconceptions and opened my eyes.

“It was not people being patronised or playing around. It was people doing sport at the top level.

“It very quickly became clear to me that I was not there to sign autographs or as someone from the telly to swan around, but to help marshal the athletes and get on with it.”

Ralf Little will be appearing in The Aliens at Bush Theatre from 15 Sep.

Will you become a volunteer at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games?

The multi-talented Mayor of London Boris Johnson today turned his hand to Boccia, the uniquely Paralympic sport, in celebration of the two-year countdown to the start of the Paralympic Games.

Joined by Paralympian wheelchair basketball player, Ade Adepitan, Johnson played the game – which is similar to bowls – on a full size Boccia court in Trafalgar Square.

The London 2012 Paralympic Games kick-off with the Opening Ceremony on 29 August 2012. Boccia will be played at London’s ExCeL during the 2012 Paralympic Games, with seven gold medals up for grabs.

If you fancy yourself as the next Boccia star or you want to see the GB Boccia gold medalists Dan Bentley, Zoe Robinson and David Smith in action, head to Trafalgar Square this morning.

The volunteers, known as Games Makers, will be split into specialist (medical, anti-doping, sport or press operations) and generalist (spectator assistants, uniform distributors and ticket checking) roles. There will also be up to 1,500 roles for young unpaid workers under the age of 18.

The volunteers will be selected and trained by fast-food giant McDonalds.

Seb Coe, Chair of London 2012 said: “London 2012 needs brilliant volunteers to help us deliver a great Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Our volunteers will be called Games Makers to reflect the important role they will play in staging the 2012 Games.”

Lord Coe added: “The programme to find our Games Makers will launch on 27 July 2010 and I urge anyone who is interested to come to our website from that day onwards to find out everything they need to know about volunteering in 2012.”

Pre-identified applicants for specialist roles can apply from 27 July 2010 onwards. Applications for generalist roles will open on 15 September 2010.

For more information and to register your interest please click here.

As the London 2012 Olympics draws nearer, a new website has been launched to locate some of our past Paralympic stars.

A new Paralympians’ Club website aims to reunite former Great Britain teammates, provide benefits for retired athletes, and offer a useful public resource ahead of the London 2012 Games.

Swimmer Ellie Simmonds, who won two gold medals at the Beijing Paralympics, says, “I am proud to be a Paralympian and to be a member of the Paralympians’ Club. Not only does the club offer some great benefits, but it’s great for the public as they can use the website to find out more about us.”

ParalympicsGB chief executive Phil Lane added, “We suspect there could be as many as 1,700 Paralympians out there who we are not in contact with. Who knows, there could be someone in your town that represented Britain at the Paralympic Games.”

If you are a retired Paralympian, you know one, or you just want to find out more visit www.paralympiansclub.org.uk

Sainsbury’s has been announced as the first-ever Paralympic-only sponsor for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

LOCOG said this week that the UK supermarket chain will utilise its network of more than 850 stores to help promote the Paralympic Games in the run up to 2012 and will make Paralympic Games and ParalympicsGB merchandise available across the UK.

The Sainsbury’s pledge represents the largest sponsorship of any Paralympic Games to date.

LOCOG Chair Seb Coe said: “The support for the Paralympic Games in the UK is incredible and I’m thrilled that we are now in a position to confirm our first stand-alone Paralympics sponsor.”

Sainsbury’s CEO Justin King said: “We are delighted to be the official sponsor of the 2012 London Paralympic Games. The vision on which the Paralympic Movement was founded complements Sainsbury’s commitment to promote a healthy, fitter lifestyle across all ages and abilities. Together with our customers and colleagues, we look forward to supporting a successful 2012 Paralympic Games.”

Read more about the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics on Visit London.

Hold on to your 2012 hats, people: today marks just 1,000 days to go to the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

If we fast-forward to 29 August 2012, the world’s best Paralympians will be in town, competing across 20 sports and disciplines. It doesn’t seem that far away!

Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), says, “In 1,000 days’ time, we’ll be welcoming the Paralympic Games home and we will deliver a spectacular showcase for Paralympic sport.

“This is a golden opportunity to raise awareness of Paralympic sport, challenge stereotypes about disability and secure a legacy which will have every disabled child getting greater access to sport.”

Colin Chaytors, the chief executive of the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS), points out that in Britain, we have many talented althetes with disabilities: “Behind those athletes are coaches, volunteers and other developmental support who share the same passion as us to continue the good work.

“EFDS are dedicated to working with all parties over the next two years to ensure we not only make the 2012 Paralympics a success for Britain, but create a long lasting legacy for all disabled people in sport.”

We love the fact that there’s lots of concentration on the legacy aspect of the Paralympics today.

But we’re also enthused by a second string to today’s announcement. Coe says, “As the clock counts down to 2012, there is still time to get involved in the Paralympic Games, and still time to become part of the British team.”

Yes, if you’ve got an impairment and think you’ve got what it takes to compete in 2012, today’s the day to get in touch!

It can take athletes up to eight years to reach an Olympics, but today we’ve learnt Paralympic hopefuls can be ready to compete at an elite level much sooner. Read more about the Talent 2012 programme here.

Have you got plans for the next 1,000 days? Let us know in the comments below, tell twitter @london2012, or visit www.london2012.com.