IPC President Sir Philip Craven described London 2012 as "the greatest Paralympic Games ever" during the Closing Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford and all 20 sports that featured at the Games received a huge boost with sell-out crowds for the majority of disciplines throughout the event.

The meeting in the former German capital saw all 28 Summer and Winter Para-sports in attendance, including canoe and triathlon, who will both be added to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games programme.

Representatives from badminton and powerchair football were also in attendance as observers with both said to be looking for inclusion on the 2020 Paralympic Games programme when that selection process begins, most likely next year.

Although the IPC has not gone into full detail about the key issues and recommendations that were discussed at the meeting, they indicated to insidethegames that positive talks were held as both Sir Philip and IPC chief executive Xavier Gonzalez attended proceedings.

Following the meeting, there are also said to be plans for the IPC to work closely with all sports to help them raise their profile in terms of public relations, but further details on this will be unveiled at a later date.


The annual forum in Bonn also saw presentations given by Sochi 2014 representative Vladimir Petrov and Rio 2016 official Agberto Guimaraes about the next Winter and next Summer Paralympic Games respectively.

The Sports Council are understood to be pleased with how preparations are going for both events while there was also a presentation from the IPC's Agitos Foundation, which will offer Para-sports new development opportunities for the future at the grassroots level.

The Council reports to the IPC Governing Board, and it advises them on appropriate sport policies for the Paralympic Games.

The Governing Board will be updated on the discussions from the meeting in Bonn by the Council when they meet later this year.

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