23rd February 2012

Tickets Now On Sale For Paralympic World Cup

23 February 2012

Tickets are now on general sale for the BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester from 22-26 May 2012, the first major team event of the year for Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland athletes and, notably, commencing on the milestone ‘100 days to go’ to the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony.

This year’s event will fire the starting gun for a fantastic summer of Paralympic sport and provide an opportunity for spectators to see the world’s best international athletes in live action.

For those who can’t make it along, Channel 4 – the London 2012 Paralympic Games host broadcaster – will once again provide multi-platform coverage of the event, reinforcing its commitment to raise awareness of Paralympic sport.

This year’s event will include Athletics (22 May), Wheelchair Basketball (23-26 May) and Football 7-a-side (23-26 May), with international matches also taking place in Boccia (24 May) and Sitting Volleyball (25 May). Tickets are available now for all sports.

“I’m really excited about this year’s BT Paralympic World Cup because it will form a major part of my preparations for the summer,” said Aviva GB & NI T44 sprinter Jonnie Peacock, who joined Wheelchair Basketball player Laurie Williams and Football 7-a-side player George Fletcher for the official ticket launch.  

“It’s a great opportunity for me to race some of the best athletes in the world in my class such as Oscar (Pistorius), and it gives me the chance to see where I’m at with my training.”

Peacock, who finished a credible fifth in the T44 100m at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand, is making significant progress under the guidance of coach Dan Pfaff at Lee Valley, UKA’s National Performance Centre in London, and has genuine podium potential in London. 

Suzi Williams, Director of BT Group Marketing and Brand, said: “The level of competition at this year’s BT Paralympic World Cup is set to be fiercer than ever as the athletes prepare for London 2012; it’s a fantastic opportunity to see the world’s very best in action.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association, said: “I would really encourage the public to buy tickets and come along to the BT Paralympic World Cup…It will be a brilliant opportunity to see British athletes and their international competition in action ahead of London 2012 and it will be great for the British competitors to experience the support of a home crowd…it’s the perfect warm-up event ahead of this year’s Paralympic Games.”

The team concept, introduced in 2010, is returning for a third year and will see athletes from defending champions Great Britain take on teams from the Americas, Europe and the Rest of the World across the sports.

The Manchester Regional Arena will host all the sporting action at the 2012 event.

For more information on scheduling and ticketing please visit: www.btparalympicworldcup.com.