357 medals will be presented at three world-class venues in Manchester this week, with men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball being held at the Regional Arena from 20-23 May and athletics taking over the venue on Sunday 24 May. Track cycling is held across two and a half days of competition from 20-22 May at the Manchester Velodrome, whist swimming will be held across two days at the Manchester Aquatics Centre on 24-25 May, with the latter during the BBC2 live broadcast from 15:00-17:15. 

BT Ambassador Oscar Pistorius, back in action following a boating accident in South Africa in March, is relishing his first major international competition in the four year cycle leading up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

“I have been training hard over the past couple of months and am delighted to have made a full recovery from the accident,” said the South African. “The BT Paralympic World Cup is such a crucial event in my development and I’ve done everything I can to be back to full fitness. I thank the team around me, including my coach and BT for their support and am really looking forward to Sunday’s competition, where I will race in the 100m as well as the 400m, which is being held for the first time.”

BT is the title sponsor of the Paralympic World Cup; the sponsorship runs up to and includes the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup. Suzi Williams, BT Group Marketing and Brand Director, said, “BT has a long history of supporting disability sport in the UK - in fact BT was the first corporate supporter of the British Paralympic Association 20 years ago.

“That’s why we are so excited to be here this week, starting our journey to 2012 as the new title partner of the BT Paralympic World Cup. BT is fully committed to doing everything we can to help make this event the very best it can be. We are delighted to welcome athletes from all over the world for six days of fantastic competition.” 

The BT Paralympic World Cup is the first major international competition in Europe in the four years cycle leading up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games and a great test for British and international athletes.

BT Ambassador Chris Hoy, who trains alongside the British Paralympic cycling team at the Manchester Velodrome, was exclusively involved in the GB men's final wheelchair basketball training session and said, “I'm continually inspired by the skill and talent Paralympic athletes display and it was incredible to see first-hand today the dynamic skills involved in wheelchair basketball. I wish all the athletes competing in Manchester the best of luck.”

GB wheelchair basketball bronze medallist Joe Bestwick is looking ahead to the competition and said, “We are excited to be playing against some of the best teams in the world - Australia of course set the benchmark when they became Paralympic champions. We have a fantastic rivalry with them and are looking forward to getting stuck into the tournament.”

Beijing double cycling champion Jody Cundy, competing in the 1km time-trial and team sprint in Manchester, said, “There is always such a buzz around the city when the BT Paralympic World Cup is on and being able to compete on home territory is really important to the British team.”

Manchester will be host to an impressive 174 Paralympic medallists from Beijing, including British swimmer Natalie Jones.

“I’ve had a great history competing at the BT Paralympic World Cup and am excited at the prospect of competing in the 100m freestyle this year,” said Jones, competing in the S6 category.

“The BBC will be broadcasting live from the swimming for the first time and demonstrates how important the BT Paralympic World Cup has become.”

President of the International Paralympic Committee Sir Phillip Craven MBE said, “The 2009 BT Paralympic World Cup once again sets the stage for record athletic performances on an elite level, and ultimately inspires and excites Paralympic fans around the world.”

ParalympicsGB Chief Executive Phil Lane added, “The BT Paralympic World Cup is a fantastic opportunity for British athletes to compete against international competition in front of a home crowd, something they will being doing at the Paralympic Games in London of course. I’m sure they are looking forward to it and I am sure the spectators are looking forward to seeing world-class Paralympic sport here in Manchester.”

The official 2009 stakeholders of the BT Paralympic World Cup are the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Manchester City Council and UK Sport.

Peter Mearns, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing at the NWDA, said, “The BT Paralympic World Cup has become one of the highlights of Manchester’s exciting sporting calendar. As a major international sporting event it makes a significant contribution to the regional economy and raises the profile of Manchester around the world.

“It also gives our talented local athletes a chance to shine in front of a home crowd, and hopefully this advantage will result in plenty of medals for Northwest and British athletes.”

Manchester City Council is to hosting the event for the fifth year. Councillor Mike Amesbury, Executive Member for Culture and Leisure at Manchester City Council said, “Manchester’s commitment to sport at all levels has been recognised by the city winning the prestigious title of the world’s leading Sport City in 2008.

“The BT Paralympic World Cup continues to play a key role both as a launch pad for our elite athletes to go on and achieve greater success, as evidenced in Beijing last year and in the creation of opportunities in disability sport for residents, schools, clubs and communities across the city.”

Simon Morton, Senior Events Consultant at UK Sport said, “UK Sport has supported the BT Paralympic World Cup since its inception five years ago and as the national sports events agency we are committed to staging world class events on home soil. In preparation for the 2012 Paralympic Games we are working closely with sports to develop a significant programme of major events.

“UK Sport’s World Class Events Programme will invest over £15m between 2009 to 2012, not only providing British athletes with the valuable opportunity of competing on home soil ahead of London 2012, but also helping to build up a network of world-class event managers, volunteers and officials.”

Tickets for the BT Paralympic World Cup are still on sale and can be purchased via the event website: www.btparalympicworldcup.com or the ParalympicsGB website: www.paralympics.org.uk or by calling 0844 8471622. Tickets cost £3 per session.

The BT Paralympic World Cup is run in association with ParalympicsGB and is sanctioned by the IPC, the UCI and the IWBF. The BBC, the official televised partner to the event, will broadcast live from the Manchester Aquatics Centre on Monday 25 May 2009 on BBC Television.