Aylesbury stadium hosts Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games Heritage Flame lighting ceremony

Buckinghamshire’s proud Paralympic heritage is being internationally recognised with the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games Heritage Flame Lighting Ceremony taking place at Stoke Mandeville Stadium on Monday, February 28.

The ceremony, which starts at 5.30pm, is part of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Torch Relay, with the flame lit at Stoke Mandeville Stadium being sent virtually to China to celebrate the final build up to the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

As the birthplace of the Paralympic Movement, Stoke Mandeville will welcome Paralympic torch bearers Angie Malone MBE and Aileen Neilson, as well as local sport and community groups to the celebration.

Buckinghamshire Council with partners WheelPower, Stoke Mandeville Stadium, the British Paralympic Association, the International Paralympic Committee, Leap, the National Paralympic Heritage Trust and the Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic & Paralympic Games will be joined by Step Change dance studios and Stoke Mandeville Maulers wheelchair rugby team for the celebration.

Guest speakers at the event will include president of the International Paralympic Committee Andrew Parsons, , with a pre-recorded contribution; Zheng Zeguang, Chinese Ambassador to the UK; Anna Scott-Marshall, communications director for the British Paralympic Association; and the Lord Lieutenant for Bucks Countess Elizabeth Howe.

After the speeches, guests will go outside to witness the Heritage Flame being lit, followed by a reception.