On Thursday 12th September, ‘The Last Leg’ presenters Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker hosted The National Lottery’s ParalympicsGB Homecoming at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, marking the return of the team from the Paris Paralympic Games. The event, attended by athletes including Dame Sarah Storey, Poppy Maskill, Alice Tai, Maisie Summers-Newton and Ellie Challis, as well as guests such as Ellie Simmonds, Ade Adepitan and Fats Timbo, blended music, entertainment, and sport to celebrate the athletes who’ve given everything through years of training for a chance to compete in Paris..
The evening kicked off with an epic opening parade featuring a visual spectacle using lights and pyrotechnics whilst Matt Howes, who calls himself the world’s only one-armed professional DJ, performed as the extraordinary athletes entered the arena. Later, iconic British rapper and Down’s Syndrome Association Ambassador, Aitch, performed ‘My G’ a song dedicated to his younger sister Gracie, who has Down’s Syndrome, in which he was accompanied by an integrated choir of children, six of whom have disabilities.
Other top UK artists, including Craig David, Caity Baser, Jonas Blue, and Sugababes, delivered stellar performances, whilst Keala Settle energised the audience with a powerful rendition of Whitney Houston’s ‘Greatest Love Of All’ before performing her iconic song ‘This is Me’ from the popular film, ‘The Greatest Showman’.
Alongside performances from top artists, the event placed diversity, inclusivity, and access at the heart of the production to reflect the achievements and visibility of our Paralympic athletes. In addition to celebrating the extraordinary achievements of ParalympicsGB, the show features a vast array of disabled artists and performers.
This included a dance performance by the UK’s first all-wheelchair dance company, Propel, and two disabled aerial artists from Extraordinary Bodies, both of which are supported byNational Lottery funded.
Additionally, 14-year-old Lucy the Pianist, winner of Channel 4’s ‘The Piano’, who is blind and neurodiverse performed ‘I’m Walking With You’, a song which was composed specially for Lucy to perform during the show. During the performance, Lucy was joined on stage by 18-year-old Pollyanna Hope, who became an amputee at just two years old and who has gone on to fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a ballet dancer with the National Youth Ballet Company.
The National Lottery’s ParalympicsGB Homecoming serves as a massive thank you to National Lottery players, whose support enables the nation’s athletes to devote themselves to their sport full-time with access to world class coaching, facilities and support teams. This support helped ParalympicsGB achieve an astounding 124 medals in Paris, including 49 gold.
Don’t miss the broadcast of this spectacular event on Channel 4, Saturday 14th September at 5:30pm.
