100 days until Paralympics celebrated around the world

Nations from around the world celebrated in various ways to mark 100 days to go until the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, from social media activities, breaking news announcements and festivals.

Here is a rundown on the activities that took place on Monday (30 May).

Australia

Chef de Mission Kate McLoughlin announced that Team Australia will aim for a top five finish in the medal standings at Rio 2016.

“We’re heading over to Brazil with the goal of achieving a top five finish, there is no denying that,” McLoughlin said.

“But our responsibility as the 2016 Australian Paralympic Team spans further than that. The Rio Paralympic Games are not just important for people with disabilities – it will provide an opportunity to reach a huge audience and challenge attitudes and perceptions.”

Through the Australian Paralympic Committee’s partnership with Seven West Media, more Australians will have access to Paralympic sport over the coming months than ever before.

During the Paralympics, Channel 7 will show 14 hours of coverage every day and also shared their excitement by releasing a promotional video.

Australia also revealed their Rio 2016 cycling team on Monday.

Find out more how the Australian Paralympic Committee celebrated from their hashtags #100DaysToGo and #WeBelieve on Twitter.

Belgium

The Belgian Paralympic Committee revealed an exciting campaign video that features nine of its star athletes to watch in Rio 2016.

Canada

On the 100-days-to-go mark, Canada announced 24 athletes who will compete in wheelchair basketball in Rio 2016.

Great Britain

The British public will have the chance to Supercharge ParalympicsGB through a brand new product, Cadbury Wini Eggs.

Launched by snacking company and British Paralympic Association (BPA) partner Mondelez International and on sale from July, a proportion of the sale of every pack of the special edition Cadbury Mini Eggs product – renamed Cadbury Wini Eggs - will go towards the Supercharge campaign to support ParalympicsGB.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Paralympic Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled (HKPC&SAPD) hosted the inaugural Hong Kong Paralympic Day on Sunday (29 May) at Hong Kong Sports Institute, which led up to the 100-days-to-go mark of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Officiating guests of the opening ceremony included: Lau Kong-wah, Secretary for Home Affairs; Raymond Fan, Deputy Director (Leisure Services) of Leisure and Cultural Services Department; Carlson Tong, Chairman of the Hong Kong Sports Institute; Timothy Fok, President of Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China; Dr. York Chow, Honorary President; Jenny Fung, President; Andy Lau and Michael Lee, Vice-presidents of HKPC&SAPD; Lincoln Yu, Chairman of Hong Kong Paralympic Day 2016 Organising Committee; Dr. James Lam, Chairman and Martin Lam, General Secretary of HKPC&SAPD.

Kong-wah commented: “The Hong Kong Government always recognise the efforts of athletes with disabilities and support their development in sports. Through supporting the work of related National Sports Associations and the Hong Kong Sports Institute, Home Affairs Bureau and Leisure and Cultural Services Department help to provide training venues, coaches, equipment, local and overseas training and competition opportunities to the athletes as well as encourage persons with disabilities to participate in sports activities. In addition, the Arts and Sport Development Fund and the Hong Kong Paralympians Fund are available to subsidise athletes’ training and participation in major international competitions. We hope today’s event will advocate public support and recognition for the development of local disabled sports.”

Fung expected the public could understand more about Para sports and support the athletes through participating in the Hong Kong Paralympic Day. The event also encouraged persons with impairments to do sports and assisted them in discovering their related talents. During the event, coaches observed the participants and tried to find potential ones to receive further training.

Yu announced that the event would be held respectively during the year of Asian Para Games and Paralympic Games hereafter.

The officiating guests took the lead to try out and play boccia and badminton with athletes Yuk-wing Leung and Ho-yuen Chan. The event attracted over 1,000 participants, who experienced the fun of 16 Para sports through exhibitions.

Chen Yu, Assistant Head Coach of Wheelchair Fencing said: “Hong Kong Paralympic Day provides valuable opportunities for coaches to find new athletes, as well as promoting disabled sports to public directly.”

In addition, Friends of HKPC&SAPD was established on Sunday to recruit passionate volunteers for supporting Paralympic Movement together by assisting in athletes’ training and event organisation.

Ireland

Paralympics Ireland launched a new mobile app on Monday to mark 100 days to go, and also announced that national broadcaster, RTÉ, will provide live coverage of the Paralympic Games and more hours than ever before.

The app will allow sports lovers across the globe to follow the progress of the Irish Paralympic team on the road to Rio. Sports fan will receive notifications of medal wins live from the sidelines in Brazil, along with interviews and snippets from the athletes and staff live in the moment.

A live show will be broadcast every night throughout the Games on RTÉ 2 with four concurrent live streams to be made available on RTÉ Player over the course of the 10 day event. More on Paralympics Ireland’s 100-days-to-go activities can be found on their website.

New Zealand

Rio-bound Paralympian Kate Horan, Paralympic debutants Liam Malone and Chris Sharp and Rio 2016 Chef de Mission and Paralympian, Ben Lucas headlined a 100-strong dance troupe celebrating Carnival-style at Te Papa on Monday to mark 100 days to go.

The celebration was aimed to inspire all disabled New Zealanders to always dance to their own beat.

Other social media activities

Various International Sports Federations and athletes also share their excitements on Twitter:

Powerlifter Ali Jawad

Sprinter Richard Browne

Swimmer Mary Fisher

International Equestrian Federation

International Canoe Federation

International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation

Find out what everyone else is saying about 100 days to go by searching the hashtag #100DaysToGo on Twitter.