The problem with inspiration is its intangiable quality. How to turn inspiration into habits and concrete change? Trading on inspiration also fails to appreciate wider obstacles and barriers preventing disabled people participating in sport and society.

The London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics represented the first Games to make a concerted effort to achieve a positive sport participation legacy. This makes the London 2012 Games an ideal test case for exploring the viability of increasing disabled people’s sports participation through mega sporting events.

The London 2012 Games aimed to inspire a generation. British Rowing

London 2012 Paralympics

One of the main aims of the 2012 Paralympics was to increase the number of disabled people participating in sports. Despite an initial rise in once-a-week sports participation immediately after the Paralympics (19.1% in 2013), participation subsequently fell back to pre-2012 levels (16.8% in 2016).

My PhD research found that the 2012 Paralympics made minimal impact on the number of disabled people participating in sports club settings. Of the 538 voluntary sports clubs that completed a questionnaire about the effects of the London 2012 Paralympics, about six in 10 sport clubs saw no noticeable change in their disabled membership five years after the 2012 Paralympics. Furthermore, nearly six in 10 sports clubs agreed the 2012 Paralympic Games had no impact on the number of disabled adults participating at their club.

Interviews with 30 individuals from sports and non-sports organizations revealed a complex combination of factors explaining the limited impact. One of the main reasons for the decline in sport participation was the lack of strategic activities and initiatives by sports organizations to maximize the hosting of the Paralympics, as well as a failure to embed a culture of inclusion within sports organizations.

Many sports organizations were unprepared for the level of interest of disabled people and were unable to respond accordingly. For some disabled people, Paralympians lacked relevance. Reduced disposable income caused by austerity was also found to have been an important barrier to participation. Due to negative media portrayals of disability, some disabled people were fearful of being active in case they were accused of being a “benefit scrounger” and potentially lose some of their benefits.

While these examples expose the folly of investing faith in a two-week sporting event’s ability to increase sports participation, it’s important to highlight there have been positive developments in disability sports since London’s 2012 Paralympics.

There is increased awareness in the sports sector of the need to provide sporting opportunities for disabled people: disability is an important focus in both the government’s sports strategy and Sport England’s strategy. Funding and research into disability sports has also grown. In the 2013-17 funding round, Sport England invested about PS170 million pounds in disability sports, having previously invested significantly less than that.

Most national disability sports organizations gained funding for the first time after the 2012 Paralympics, while 42 national governing bodies of sport received investment for disability, compared to 11 in 2009-13. In 2016, Sport England released its research into disability in England, providing sports organizations with facts about disability.

Despite the positive developments, there are still mountains to climb. Disabled people are still twice as likely to be inactive than non-disabled people.

When you next listen to politicians extolling the benefits of mega sporting events when it comes to boosting participation in sports, be skeptical. It’s likely to be a political spin to justify the huge financial investment.

The evidence suggests mega sporting events, on their own, fail to increase sport participation in the long term. Tokyo 2020 hopes to inspire change for disabled people and to make Japan a more accessible society. However, more work needs to be done to make Japan more accessible. If the London 2012 Paralympic Games failed to meaningfully increase sport participation, despite prioritising sport as a legacy goal, what hope is there for Tokyo 2020?

What is the Paralympic Games good for?

The Paralympics is, first and foremost, an elite sports event. Elite sport, by its very nature, discriminates on the basis of ability – only the best is acceptable. It’s questionable whether this is the best way to engage people in sport. There’s no doubt the Paralympics can be inspirational for some people, but its appeal and potency is not for everyone.

The Paralympic Games do not represent the diversity of disability and is not a substitute for educating individuals on the lived experience of disabled people. In fact, the Paralympic Games may propagate stereotypical narratives on disability, causing more harm than good. The Paralympics may shine a spotlight on accessibility and inclusion in the host country, but whether this can lead to lasting change is doubtful. For sport participation, the Paralympic Games is not the solution and should be one component of a wider sport participation strategy.