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| London 2012: Huge interest in Paralympic Games tickets | London 2012: Huge interest in Paralympic Games tickets |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Sessions in several sports were oversubscribed for the first time in Paralympics history during the window to apply for tickets, which has closed. | |
| Ballots will be held for sessions in track cycling, swimming and the final rounds of wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis at next year's Games. | |
| London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe told the BBC: "We have a head-start with Paralympic sport in Britain." | |
| The Paralympic Games run from 29 August to 9 September next year. | The Paralympic Games run from 29 August to 9 September next year. |
| More than 4,200 athletes, with a variety of disabilities, from 150 nations will take part. | More than 4,200 athletes, with a variety of disabilities, from 150 nations will take part. |
| Payment for the tickets will be taken by 31 October, and applicants will find out if they have been successful by 18 November. | Payment for the tickets will be taken by 31 October, and applicants will find out if they have been successful by 18 November. |
| Coe added that the appreciation of the Games among British youngsters could not be overstated. | |
| "Look at the extraordinary scenes in Trafalgar Square just a couple of weeks ago when we celebrated Paralympic Day," he said. | |
| "Young kids from local schools were getting excited about seeing Ellie Simmonds, Oscar Pistorius, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson and David Weir. | |
| "The kids really do get it - for them it is excellent sport and the competitors have become household names. | |
| "For young people Paralympic sport is actually an interesting metaphor. | |
| "It is about courage and determination, it is about equality and sometimes it is about overcoming extraordinary setbacks in life. | |
| "But what they also know is that they are watching things that they can't do which is a pretty good way of defining sport really." | |
| BBC athletics commentator Paul Dickenson, who has covered the Games since Atalanta in 1996, said that famous Paralympians had definitely raised the profile of their sports. | |
| "Look at the polls that BBC Sports Personality of the Year has achieved in the last few years where both Ellie and Tanni have reached the last three as sportswomen let alone Paralympic sportswomen," he said. | |
| "The profile that the general public have of these people is much, much higher than it has ever been before. | |
| "And of course at every Paralympic Games I have ever been to, the medal count for the Great Britain team has just got higher and higher. | |
| "We finished second behind China in Beijing and obviously we want to try and achieve that again by the time we get to London. | |
| "There is a feeling that Paralympic sport is a concession made to people with a disability to take part in sport. | |
| "But to be honest if you have ever been to wheelchair rugby you would be utterly amazed at the commitment and entertainment value these sports give." |