The organizers of the Paralympic Games do not want to merge with the Olympic Games / Article

SPK is satisfied with the separate development of the Paralympic and Olympic Games, but combining the two events could create a situation where Paralympic sports in the world would lose the trend of increasing popularity, or even regress, according to Spence. Paralympians would be at greater risk of having their achievements overshadowed by the triumph of the Olympians.

The agreement on holding the Olympic and Paralympic Games in one place, but with a slight time delay, was signed in 2018 and is valid until the end of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Since 1988, we have seen the exponential growth of Paralympic sport,” Spence said. “We have strong growth, and gaming development, combining the two events, could potentially hinder and threaten that development. We could potentially start going backwards.”

Spence admitted that there are regular opinions about combining the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but it is necessary to evaluate whether it would be useful. In SPK’s view, the merger is not useful, as the current arrangement serves quite well to maintain it.

The British Commonwealth Games are currently being held in England, where the inclusion of Paralympic disciplines in a common competition program has gained widespread recognition, which in turn has encouraged consideration of combining the Olympic and Paralympic Games. However, skeptics point out that it is rare for any city in the world to host two such ambitious sports forums at the same time. The Olympic Games have 10,500 athletes, while the Paralympic Games gather around 5,400 athletes, and organizers must also provide accommodation for service staff and participants’ assistants.

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