Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020: Everything you need to know

The Olympic Games in Tokyo provided highs, lows, sporting drama and lots of medals and there's more incredible action on the way, because the Paralympics are here!

The Paralympics feature athletes with disabilities competing in 539 events, across 22 different sports.

The Paralympics have always been in the same year as the summer Olympics. The name comes from the word Parallel Olympics, (which means running alongside) and was shortened to Paralympics.

Just like the Olympics, these Games were supposed to take place a year ago in Japan, but were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

When are the Paralympics?

The opening ceremony is on Tuesday 24 August, with the sport beginning the following day.

Starting at 8pm Tokyo time, the opening ceremony will be available to watch at 12 noon in the UK, thanks to the eight-hour time difference.

The final day of action will be Sunday 5 September.

The great news is we'll be able to keep eating our breakfasts while watching amazing athletes achieve outstanding things!

The Sports

Each sport has different physical demands, so each has its own set of classifications to decide which athletes can compete in each event.

Given that Para athletes have different abilities, the categories in which the athletes can compete are explained using a combination of letters and numbers.

For example, in Athletics classifications include the letter F for field athletes, T represents those who compete on the track, and a number refers to their disability.

Each of the 22 sports have different letter and number combinations depending on each disability category.

Five British Paralympians to look out for

There will be 226 Paralympics GB athletes from 19 different sports travelling to Japan.

Great Britain has a brilliant record at the Games, having won 147 medals in Rio five years ago.

Jonny Peacock

Paralympic champion, Jonny Peacock has been selected for the T64 100 metres and 4x100m universal relay and is hoping to become a three-time Paralympic champion in Tokyo following glory at T44 100m in London 2012 and Rio 2016.

You may also recognise Jonny from the 2017 series of Strictly where he was partnered with Oti Mabuse.

Kadeena Cox

A sprinter from an early age, Kadeena Cox entered Para-athletics in 2015 after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

At Rio in 2016 Cox won three medals in athletics with gold in the T38 400m, silver in the 4x100m and bronze in the 100m.

She also completed a remarkable achievement by claiming a gold medal in cycling with victory in the C4-5 time trial to become the first British Paralympian for 32 years to win medals in two different sports.

Kadeena will look to defend her T38 400m title and has been picked for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic GB cycling squad.

(She'll also be appearing in celebrity Masterchef later this year, so watch out for that too),

Ellie Simmonds

Ellie Simmonds won her first gold medal at the age of 13. Since then, she's taken home eight swimming medals at Paralympic games (five of those, gold), and was the youngest winner of the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award.

She also became the youngest person to receive an MBE, at the age of 14.

Ellie says: "I'm really looking forward to competing at another Paralympics. Each Games is special in its own right - from my first one as a thirteen-year-old at Beijing 2008, and now to be heading into a fourth aged 26 is a magical feeling.

"The Paralympics are such an incredible event to be a part of, almost in a way you can't quite explain."

Will Bayley

Defending Paralympic champion Will Bayley has been named in a 13-strong Para-table tennis squad for the Tokyo Paralympics.

He'll compete in the men's class 7 singles and men's class 6-7 team.

Bayley created one of the most memorable moments of Rio 2016 for Paralympics GB when he won gold in the men's class 7 event and stood on the table to celebrate. Will it be another gold in Tokyo?

The table tennis star also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2019, but had to pull-out of the show due to injury.

Hollie Arnold

Javelin star Hollie Arnold has gradually risen to the top in her sport.

In 2008, she made her Paralympic debut at the age of 14, finishing in 11th place.

At the Games in London 2012, she came fifth, before becoming Paralympic champion in Rio five years ago.

Since then she's appeared in I'm a Celebrity, and is now throwing for gold again in Tokyo.

New sports

Para badminton will be played at the Paralympics for the very first time

The Tokyo Paralympics will see two new sports introduced this year. Badminton will debut as a official sport at the 2020 Games alongside taekwondo.

Four British athletes will compete in Para-badminton and three will compete in Para-taekwondo.

Britain's Matt Bush, who is the reigning world Para-taekwondo champion, recently had to withdraw from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games due to an injury. Joe Lane will take his place.

The history of the Games

The idea for the Paralympics started after World War Two in 1948 when a sports competition for people who had injured their spines while fighting took place.

Over the years it got bigger until 1960 when an Olympic-style event happened in Rome. By 1976 athletes with other disabilities were included as well.

The first ever Winter Paralympics also took place in 1976 in Sweden.

The mascot of the Paralympic Games 2020 is called Someity inspired by the popular cherry blossom someiyoshino. In English, it loosely translates to "so mighty"

The Paralympics have always been in the same year as the summer Olympics, but have only been held in the same country since 1988 - where they took place in Seoul, Korea.

While Olympians are represented by the International Olympic Committee, paralympians have a different governing body; the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

It means that the two events are completely separate, however there is mixed opinion over whether the two should eventually be merged.