The event was, after all, an enjoyable affair and despite the fact that the wind and rain regularly combined in an attempt to put a dampener on things (and for that I solely blame the genius who organised an outdoor event in England in December), during the brief moments of respite the sights of London from the hilltop were truly spectacular.

It made one very proud of the great city - and we who are fond of the 2012 Games can only hope the controversial planning application submitted by the organisers for use of the beautiful location as an equestrian venue during the Olympics and Paralympics is granted.

What is more, the great and the good involved in the London 2012 Paralympics were out in force to enjoy the 1,000 day celebrations. I had the pleasure of bumping into Paul Deighton: the chief executive of London 2012; Chris Holmes: the new director of Paralympic Integration at London 2012; Phil Lane: the chief executive of ParalympicsGB; and Dame Tanni Grey -hompson: Britain’s most successful Paralympian with a total of 16 Paralympic medals, 11 of which are gold.

Also in attendance were some of our current and future Paralympic stars such as Danielle Brown, a Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medallist in archery and sure-fire tip for 2012, and Matt Skelhon, another Beijing gold medallist in shooting and another potential London star.

This, combined with many of the other "big-wigs" involved in disability sport in Britain, made for an impressive cast indeed.

When speaking to the many of the assembled group – as is my occupation – there was a genuine feeling of excitement as well as nerves as the Games draws ever closer.

The nerves (rather surprisingly) appeared to come from members of the organising committee rather than the athletes as despite the obvious progress that is being made, there is  - Holmes told me – “still a heck of a lot to do".

The less flamboyant but equally friendly Deighton calmly explained that it is now a case of "gradually racking up in intensity for everyone involved in staging 2012" while each and every athlete I spoke to seemed to be buzzing with so much excitement (and so few nerves) that I do not want to touch them through fear of an electric shock.

But it was actually Deighton who got me thinking most about the event and about the Paralympics in general when he said to me: "The real rational about today is to make sure that people understand how serious we are about our commitment to the Paralympics."

It was a fantastic point and one I couldn't have agreed with more but it made me wonder: Would Deighton – or indeed anyone involved in London 2012 – have said the same thing about the Olympic Games?

Would he in fact have found a need to stress a commitment to the Olympic Games when the commitment is so blindingly obvious that it does not need to be stated? I strongly doubt it and that is why the event in Greenwich made me wonder if the Paralympics are truly on a par with the Olympics as the name "Para" (which means ‘alongside’ or ‘parallel’ to the Olympics) suggests.



Are they even heading in the right direction?

Don't panic. My answer there is an emphatic "Yes".

The Paralympic Games are dramatically growing in scope and popularity, the athletic standard at the Games is rapidly increasing as records continue to tumble and crossover sports stars have emerged from parasport such as Oscar Pistorius (the “Blade Runner") and our very own Dame Tanni.

But the event at Greenwich was not the grand firework display that appeared at the top of the BT Tower when the 1,000 days to go to the Olympic Games celebrations took place. And while Tanni and other figures such as Ellie Simmonds are house-hold names, other Paralympic gold medallists remain largely anonymous to the general public.

I am sure that the London 2012 Paralympic Games will make a few more easily recognisable stars in this country but whether a world superstar can emerge from the Games (as Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps did in the 2008 Beijing Olympics) remains to be seen.

A true superstar though, would certainly help to continue to boost the profile of disability sport; one only needs to think of what Tiger Woods is to golf or Roger Federer to tennis to realise as much.

But London 2012’s primary objective should not be to ensure that the Paralympic Games are just as big as the Olympic Games. That goal, at this stage, is too great and too unrealistic.

The challenge is though to ensure that the Paralympic Games become increasingly popular, increasingly bigger and leave a lasting legacy of inspiration to people of all ages - disabled or otherwise - to participate in sport.

After all I have seen regarding the London 2012 Paralympic Games preparations; I think that will happen.

Holmes often talks in inspirational tones about taking the Paralympic baton from Beijing and handing over a totally different baton to Rio de Janeiro and therein lies the key.

London is using the Games to create better access around the capital for disabled people and if other Olympic and Paralympic host cities follow suit in the future, then that can only be a good thing.

Will facilities and access for the disabled around London be perfect after the 2012 Paralympic Games is over? Of course not, but at least it is a start.

Whenever I have spoken to Dame Tanni (my all time favourite interviewee who can not only win multiple Paralympic gold medals for Britain but probably talk for the Isles too), I have always felt inspired by what she has to say about the 2012 Paralympics. Never one to make rash comments, Tanni explained to me that if she thought that the 2012 Paralympic Games were a mere "tag-on" to the Olympics, she would not be involved in them.

When you hear Tanni say that in person, you know the Paralympic Games are moving in the right direction. I am sure that Tanni, like me, does not think that the 2012 Games will be quite as popular as the Olympics but make no mistake; they will be a huge event and perhaps set a new benchmark for a Paralympic Games.

Let’s just think about it for a second. Before 1948, there wasn’t even any a Paralympic Games.  Then a German named Sir Ludwig Guttmann came to England and created the Stoke Mandeville Games and by 1960, the first ever Paralympics took place in Rome. It was only at the Seoul 1988 Paralympics that the Paralympic Games even shared the same city as the Olympic Games and when you consider where we are now, the Paralympic Movement has come a very long way in a short space of time.

So while I do not think the Paralympic Games will truly be the parallel of the Olympic Games in 2012 - and I may yet be proved wrong - you can expect the Games to make another huge contribution to the Paralympic Movement on its path to true equity which will certainly come one day. And how fitting that London and England make that significant contribution in less than 1,000 days in the country where it all began.

Tom Degun is the chief reporter for insideworldparasport

Pictures: Helen Grace Bennett