The Legacy of London 2012

As the 14^th edition of the Paralympic Winter Games closes in Milano Cortina, it seems a good time to look back to the Paralympics that truly was a Games changer.

London, Thursday 6^th September 2012. The final of the Paralympic Mens’ T44 100 metres. This was a race that had caught the public’s imagination. The packed crowd in the stadium and the 6.3 million watching on Channel 4 were on tenterhooks. This wasn’t ‘disability sport’, or any sort of poor relation to the athletics at the ‘proper’ Olympics. This was simply sport. It was tasty, a gladiatorial contest with head to head rivalries and some genuine hostility.

Oscar Pistorius, the South African ‘Bladerunner’ who had brought para athletics into the mainstream with his high tech prosthetics, was facing off against the Brazilian Alan Oliveira, who had bested him controversially in the 200 metres. Much of the attention was on them. But the field was evenly matched: at least 4 of the finalists were genuine contenders. Any of them could win – and none of them wanted to lose.

In the centre of the line up was a Briton, Jonnie Peacock. At 19, he was the youngest in the field and, although he had shown blistering speed as the fastest qualifier, he was not the favourite.

The runners were called to their blocks and the enthusiastic crowd began to chant Peacock’s name. The officials were having trouble calming things down, until Peacock calmly raised his finger to his lips for quiet – and the crowd duly fell silent. A few minutes later they erupted again, roaring Peacock to a stunning victory.

We didn’t know it at the time, but something - everything - had just changed. We would never see disability the same way again.

Andrea Finlay, Tourism for All’s PR Champion, recalls that evening:

“I was 10 years old and loving the Games, but Jonnie Peacock was something new. We’d never seen a Para athlete before who had that bit of cockiness, even arrogance, about him. When he put his finger to his lips and the crowd went quiet, it sent shivers down everybody’s spine.”

The bar for the London 2012 Paralympic Games was set high early on, when the organisers announced that the Games would have equal billing and status to the Olympic Games.

As the implications of London hosting the Paralympics were understood – hundreds of disabled athletes and their parties would be arriving in London to compete, along with thousands of spectators, and the whole thing would be watched on television by millions worldwide - it became clear that a plan was urgently needed, to ensure that London would be ready.

Recognising the value of the Games to tourism, the then Prime Minister Tony Blair called a meeting in Downing Street of the stakeholder organisations who needed to coordinate their efforts. The Accessible Tourism Stakeholders Forum (ATSF) was born. Tim Gardiner was invited to chair the ATSF on behalf of Tourism for All. Tim, now Tourism for All’s President, notes that:

“The decision that the Olympic and Paralympic Games would have equal status woke everybody up to the need to co-operate, co-ordinate and deliver change.” He recalls the first meeting of the group:

“It was challenging – and even embarrassing – for organisations to be asked to explain what they were planning and doing to prepare for the Games. But it was exciting too. We knew this had to be a success – and we were determined to make it so”.

Tim admits that the focus was very much on being ready to give a proper welcome to the influx of disabled visitors and a good impression to the worldwide viewing audience. The legacy that the Games would leave behind was lower down the priority list. In fact, as Tim says:

“Any legacy the Games would leave would be more by accident than design.”

In the event, the 2012 Paralympic Games were a roaring success – but what has been their legacy?

In many ways, it appears that things have stalled since the Games. Many of the changes made to accommodate disabled visitors during the Games proved to be temporary, and were later withdrawn. Speaking to the BBC in August 2022, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, 11-time Paralympic Gold Medallist and a key member of the bid team which won the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for London, said

“…10 years on, there are still massive challenges for disabled people across British society in many areas like transport, employment, healthcare, education, social care, access and day-to-day living.

“So celebrate the games for what they were - but we can't make glib statements about how it has changed the world.”

As if to highlight the truth of that statement, in August 2024 Baroness Grey-Thompson found herself stranded on a train arriving at London’s King’s Cross station when assistance to help her off the train failed to arrive, and had to crawl off the train onto the platform.

Nevertheless, there has been progress. Businesses are increasingly recognising the economic benefit to be derived from embracing accessibility and inclusion. And although major infrastructural issues are not going away (and were outside the scope of what the ATSF could have addressed in the run up to the Games), individuals can still make a vital difference to the experience of customers with impairments and access needs.

Ana Crome, Tourism for All Trustee and a full-time powered wheelchair user, recalls a journey from Surbiton in South West London up to Euston mainline station, which involved both train and tube travel:

“The staff who were there to assist with accessibility were really helpful, and they were thoughtful too. They didn’t just place the ramp up from the platform to the train, they got on the train and politely moved people out of the wheelchair area. Yes, there were big problems with the infrastructure – there’s still no level access to Euston tube station, so I had to get out at King’s Cross and walk from there to Euston mainline station. But the attitude of the staff I met was to help me get round the problems, which is all I want. They turned it from an ordeal into an adventure.”

The Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework has gained traction as an important vehicle for articulating organisations’ aspirations for accessibility and inclusion, setting their goals and reporting on their performance. But the aspirations and goals set out in ESG statements too often are not finding their way down into the organisations’ culture, or becoming embedded in their operational management. At the same time, individuals may be working to provide support and service to customers with impairments and access needs, but without the confidence and empowerment that comes from knowing that this is part of their organisation’s culture.

Gaps and inflexibility in the infrastructure are always going to be present, but gaps and inflexibility in organisations’ cultures can and must be addressed. We call on organisations to drive their ESG aspirations and goals from their Board reports through into their culture, by equipping, empowering and challenging their staff to deliver excellent service and support to customers with impairments and access needs.

So from the perspective of 2026 and the Milano Cortina Winter Games, what was the legacy of the London 2012 Paralympic Games? In the end, the true legacy of London 2012 isn’t to be found in major changes to infrastructure or to legislation. It resides in the subtle, almost imperceptible but truly momentous shift in our perception of, and our attitude to, disability – a shift that sprang from that one remarkable moment of spontaneous crowd management by a charismatic 19 year old sporting hero.

The TFA45 Appeal

This is Tourism for All’s 45^th anniversary year. We began life as a campaign, instigated back in 1981 by the Holiday Care Service. We were formally born when the Holiday Care Service later joined with sister charities to form a new organisation, called Tourism for All.

During the last 45 years there have been significant shifts in attitudes, legislation and product development, as well as major events, including the 2012 Paralympic Games, which have impacted on the accessibility of tourism in the UK. Throughout this time Tourism for All has acted as a supporter and enabler in the development and delivery of these public policy initiatives. The original Tourism for All campaign’s call to action and aspiration, that disabled people should not be excluded from social activities like trips and holidays, is as relevant today as it was 45 years ago.

Over the next few months, members of our Board of Trustees will share their personal reflections on different aspects of our disability and accessibility journey, highlighting the progress that has been made – and what still remains to be achieved to remove the barriers which still prevent disabled people, and those they travel with, from enjoying tourism experiences.

We are highly dependent on technology to deliver our objectives. To ensure that we can continue to discharge our role as a supporter and enabler of accessible tourism in the UK most effectively, we are planning major upgrades to our IT systems, including our ‘Travel Planner’ website and our online Training platform.

To help us to fund these upgrades, which are vital to our sustainable future, we have launched our TFA45 Appeal. During 2026, in recognition of the work the charity has delivered over the last 45 years, we hope to raise £45,000 in donations. If our agenda has resonance with you or your organisation your support would be greatly appreciated.

You can make a donation here. Thank you.