Heritage Lottery funding secured to establish Paralympic heritage centre at Stoke Mandeville
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded the National Paralympic Heritage Trust £1m (US$1.3m, €1.1m) to establish a heritage centre in the UK chronicling the history of the Paralympic movement.
Paralympic sport dates back to 1948, when Dr Ludwig Guttman, director of the UK’s first specialist unit for treating spinal injuries, organised the first Stoke Mandeville Games. Guttman was a figurehead for the establishment of the Paralympic Games, which were held for the first time in Rome in 1960.
The new heritage centre will tell this story, right up to today’s modern Paralympic athletes and the recent Paralympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
The centre's exhibition will be developed by Mather & Co at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium – the National Centre for Disability Sport in the United Kingdom – in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Exhibitions will include artefacts including Guttmann’s surgical box, medals from the first games and a wide range of equipment and memorabilia.
As part of the centre’s funding, its entire collection will be digitised to be preserved for future generations. The collection will also be archived, catalogued and shared to reach the widest audience possible. Additionally, a nationwide programme of regional exhibitions will also be rolled out in Norwich, Manchester, Bradford, Bath, and London to share the Paralympic story with people across the UK.
“My first recollection of Stoke Mandeville was from the 1967 National Games when as a 17-year-old I saw wheelchair basketball being played. Looking back, I recall a small area of not too attractive land sandwiched between the back of a large hospital and a railway embankment,” said Sir Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee.
“To think that this is where the unique paralympic sporting spirit was born, fuelled by the human energy of the athletes, coaches and volunteers, and to know now that this fiery furnace of positive human energy will be remembered forever makes me very happy.”
In addition to HLF funding, the Trust has also received support from the Wellcome Trust, Aylesbury Vale Community Chest, Spirit of 2012, Association of Independent Museums, Heart of Bucks/Bucks Freemasons, Transform Foundation, the Rothschild Foundation and Arts Council England.
“Sports heritage has a wide appeal to the British Public and we are enormously grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for their continuing support, enabling us to bring the story of Dr Guttmann and the development of the Paralympic movement to a wide range of audiences,” said Paul Mainds, chair of the National Paralympic Heritage Fund.
“While our first job is to protect the unique heritage that could so easily be lost, the real satisfaction will be to share the inspiration of the history which is literally ‘life changing’ and to help break down some of the surviving barriers.”
Over the course of the next five years, the National Paralympic Heritage Trust – made up of the British Paralympic Association, WheelPower Sport, Aylesbury Vale District Council and Buckinghamshire County Council – will continue in its fundraising effort, seeking a further £400,000 (US$518,000, €454,000) to further expand the project.
Stoke Mandeville Heritage Lottery Fund Paralympic museum heritage disability sport Ludwig Guttman
EIS head of sport science joins British Paralympic Association
Rio 2016 Paralympian joins Sport and Recreation Alliance board
London 2012 chief medical officer elected as chair of the British Paralympic Association
Paralympic gold medalist opens multi-million-pound leisure centre
Sport prominent in New Year's Honours following stellar Rio 2016
BIG unveils Eve Music Hall as Croatia venue nears completion
Bob Rogers hands BRC to long-serving leadership team
Wellness care hospital opens in Vilnius with innovative spa and hospitality concept
Universal and Puy du Fou projects point to rise of Oxford–Cambridge corridor
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’ planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism investment.
For years, the corridor has been associated primarily with science, technology, housing and university-led economic growth. However, the clustering of large-scale visitor attraction projects along the
All-inclusive eco-wellness development Auko to open near Vietnam’s Son Doong caves
Shedd Aquarium upgrades its visitor experience with new Immersion Theater
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional revenue opportunities.
The attraction has transformed the aquarium’s Phelps Auditorium into a multi-sensory venue combining panoramic projection, environmental effects and interactive technology.
A new pre-show area allows visitors to engage with augmented reality marine animals before entering the
Mandarin Oriental announces standalone Mansions-branded residences for Abu Dhabi
MCR is planning a luxury hotel for London's BT Tower
Joy as a radical act: Yinka Ilori launches solo exhibition celebrating the rebellious power of spreading happiness
Work gets underway on Madrid's €800 million leisure complex
Work is underway in Madrid on one of Europe’s most significant multi-functional complexes, combining sport, entertainment, culture and education.
The €800 million initiative to regenerate the former Olympic Aquatic Centre in the north-east of the city, next to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium, is being led by Barsento – a joint venture between Live Nation Entertainment, Oak View Group and Atlético de Madrid. The project will
Therme Manchester reveals 90:90 strategy – 90 per cent of the UK population within a 90-minute drive of a Therme
Four Seasons’ Naples Beach Club opens 2,800sq m Sanctuary spa inspired by indigenous Calusa people
Orient Express Corinthian to host Ocean Rebirth wellness retreat in collaboration with Guerlain
Famed London nightclub, Tramp, launches Tramp Health
First look: Miraval opens on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia
Hainan Science Museum by Ma Yansong, opens in China
A new science museum has opened to the public in Haikou after attracting more than 350,000 visitors during a four-month soft opening period.
Designed by Ma Yansong and his practice MAD Architects, the Hainan Science Museum is located on the edge of Wuyuan River National Wetland Park and has already recorded peak attendance of more than 5,800 visitors in a single day.
Commissioned by
Zannier Île De Bendor launches with design by Hardel Le Bihan Architectes
Sæl Spa readies for launch in London: “a modern British sanctuary”
Immersive art bathhouse Submersive announces debut location in Austin
Construction begins on regenerative wellness destination The Shenandoah Nature Resort
Royal Caribbean reveals record-breaking cruise ship
V&A East opens in London
David Geffen galleries open at LACMA
New venue The Lands by Capella includes a longevity centre to complement sister hotel Capella Sydney
World of Frozen launches at Disneyland Paris
Pical Resort by Valamar reveals first Croatian spa under the ESPA brand
Mandarin Oriental creates end-to-end Egyptian journey with two new hotels and first-ever luxury river cruise
Designers Mendil + Meyer launch new division called Lām Concepts for strategic wellness projects
Wilderness Bisate in Rwanda reveals brand’s second Sanctuary spa
4a Architekten shares details of wellness extension at Salinarium Bad Dürkheim Thermal Spa
