The Paralympic flame was lit by two British athletes before its journey to the Games in Paris.

The fire was lit on Saturday by Helene Raynsford and Gregor Ewan at the birthplace of the Paralympic movement in Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire.

The torch will be passed in relays between 24 torchbearers in the United Kingdom on its journey through the Channel Tunnel to the French capital.

“I am delighted to have been chosen for this very special occasion,” said Ewan.

The event marked the first time the Paralympic flame was lit in Stoke Mandeville since the Games came to London in 2012.

The Paralympic movement began in 1948 in the village hospital after Dr. Ludwig Guttmann helped rehabilitate soldiers injured in World War II.

The President of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons, ran a short lap on the athletics track after the ignition.

The torch will be carried by 24 British bearers in the United Kingdom before being handed over to 24 French Paralympians in Calais.

Organizers said each torch in France would light another 12 torches to symbolize the number of days the Games would last. The flames would then be distributed across the country for about 1,200 forerunners to carry.

The relay teams will meet in Paris on August 28, where the cauldron will be lit at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games.

It was hoped that by naming Stoke Mandeville it would draw worldwide attention to the role it had played, through Sir Ludwig, in the birth of the Paralympic Movement.

“Words cannot describe the honour of being chosen to light the Paralympic flame alongside Gregor,” said Raynsford, the first Paralympic rowing champion.

Ewan, a three-time Paralympic wheelchair rower, added that it was a “very special occasion”.

Follow news from Beds, Herts and Bucks on BBC Sounds, on facebook., Instagram And X.

Further Internet links