PRINCE HARRY SHOWS HIS SUPPORT FOR WORLD PARA ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS LONDON 2017

Prince Harry today encouraged people to show their support for the world’s best Para Athletes when the World Para Athletics Championships London 2017 come to London from 14 – 23 July.

In a joint appeal with Dave Henson, who last year won a Bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and has been selected to compete in this year’s World Para Athletics Championships London 2017, Prince Harry explains why people should buy tickets to this summer’s event. This can also be viewed here.

Prince Harry says: “Buy your tickets, get down there, bring your family and friends and come down and support. Be there with everybody else, creating that atmosphere that’s going to be a life-changing moment for Dave and everyone else.”

Dave, who served with the Royal Engineers was injured in 2011 in Afghanistan when he stood on an IED, resulting in the loss of both his legs. It was during his rehabilitation that Dave found new passion for sport, which was a real catalyst for his recovery. He discovered a real talent for running at the inaugural Invictus Games in 2014, where his Personal Best saw him comfortably into the world top ten. Since then, he has gone on to compete at the 2016 European Championships where he took home Silver before winning Bronze at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Sharing his experience about watching the London 2012 Paralympic Games and how it helped him during his recovery, Dave explains: “I was still very early on in my recovery and rehab stage, it was a little bit of inspiration because it was suddenly an exposure to people absolutely smashing sport. I went to the Olympic Park a couple of time and it was just such an incredible atmosphere, everyone was so happy.

“I don’t have a World Championship medal, so to take one of those home would be just incredible. I’d love to come away from it with a World Championship medal around my neck. Spectators will see the world’s best para athletes compete in one of the world’s most iconic sports venues. Every single member of the GB team, every single athlete that has qualified is an incredible sportsperson.”

Tickets for the World ParaAthletics Championships start at just £10 for adults with children’s tickets priced at £5 for every session. Over half of tickets (500,000) cost £20 or less and a family of four can enjoy watching a ParaAthletics gold-medal session for just £30. Tickets can be purchased from https://tickets.london2017athletics.com/

Last month, London 2017 Ltd announced record sales with more than 230,000 tickets sold for the World Para Athletics Championships London 2017. Sales are bigger than all of the previous eight editions of the championships combined and the biggest ever outside of a Paralympic Games. Organisers are urging more supporters to come and support the best para athletes in the world with their #FillTheStadium campaign to ensure as many supporters as possible pack the London Stadium at the event from 14-23 July.

The World Para Athletics Championships London 2017 kick off the Summer of World Athletics and the biggest sporting event in the world in 2017 with the IAAF World Championships following at the London Stadium from 4-13 August. For the first time ever both the World Para Athletics Championships and IAAF World Championships are being held in the same city in the same summer. The summer of World Athletics is the biggest event to be staged at the London Stadium since the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with 30 sessions scheduled across 20 days.

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