Sports Minister’s speech at the ParalympicsGB Homecoming

Thank you Andria, David and the whole National Lottery family for inviting me to speak today.

It is an absolute privilege to be here in Birmingham to welcome home ParalympicsGB and get the chance to celebrate your remarkable achievements in Paris.

I cannot imagine how the last few weeks must have been for all of you. The build up… the excitement… the adrenaline.

What you achieved out there was absolutely phenomenal.

Second place in the medal table – for the third consecutive Paralympic Games.

Unbelievable displays of stamina, skill and strength.

You built on the record-breaking performances of Rio and Tokyo, and you made the whole country very proud.

Whether you brought home a medal or not, your performances were testament to what can be achieved through focus and commitment.

You withstood pain and overcame everything in front of you, pushing yourselves to the absolute limit.

I hope you’ve all had a chance to relax and really soak in everything you accomplished.

I was delighted to be in Paris to cheer you on as I know people up and down the country were doing the same. 

This Government wants to support the next generation of athletes to make their dreams a reality, and that is exactly what we are going to do. 

We are reviewing the ways we can put sport back at the centre of the curriculum. 

We want to make sure that every child, wherever they live, can access first class grassroots facilities. 

I will continue to work with our Arm’s Length Body Sport England, who do great work in making sure each of their programmes directly impacts disabled people and those with long term health conditions. 

This includes initiatives such as the We Are Undefeatable campaign, and partnerships with disability sports organisations. 

We are fully committed to enabling you to excel on the world stage and will continue to support you in the run up to LA 2028. 

None of that would have been possible without the infrastructure that UK Sport and ParalympicGB support, and of course the enduring support of the National Lottery. 

The National Lottery has been instrumental to our continued success at the last few Paralympic Games. 

Thanks to the funding generated by National Lottery players, ParalympicsGB has continued to excel, cementing its remarkable position of second place on the all-time Games medal table. 

I know that many of you, straight after you finished your event, spoke about how important the National Lottery has been to your journey, and how it has been the bedrock of your success. 

So I would like to thank everyone at the National Lottery, and all the people who play, for helping to do their bit and backing successive generations of GB Paralympians. 

All of you here today have helped to inspire and paved the road for the next generation, so I hope you enjoy the celebrations tonight. 

I hope to see as many of you as possible in the coming months, encouraging others to follow in your footsteps.