Gold Cabinet on Strand on the Green Celebrates Paralympians
Virgin Media repurposes junction box in honour of Tokyo medal haul
Gold medal winning ParalympicsGB athlete, Thomas Young, with the golden cabinet
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A telecoms cabinet on Strand on the Green has been painted gold in honour of the achievements of ParalympicsGB at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Following the example of the gold postbox near Chiswick Town Hall in honour of Olympic gold medal winner Pete Read, the repurposed Virgin Media broadband junction box marks the staggering achievement of the team which racked up a staggering 124 medals, taking second place in the overall medals table and winning medals in more sports than any nation has ever achieved at Paralympic Games.
ParalympicsGB athlete, Thomas Young, from London who won a gold medal in athletics, attended the unveiling of the cabinet. He said: “It’s a real honour that Virgin Media has recognised the achievements of ParalympicsGB in this way and to be unveiling the gold cabinet in London is an enormous privilege. With no spectators in Tokyo, the support of fans back at home meant so much to all athletes taking part in Tokyo and definitely spurred us all on to perform at our very best.”
Virgin Media has also painted broadband cabinets in other parts of the UK including Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Loughborough and Stoke Mandeville – the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. A special event to mark the occasion was held in Stoke Mandeville with ParalympicsGB athletes Jody Cundy OBE, Phoebe Paterson Pine, Stef Reid MBE, Ali Jawad and Tom Hamer who had just returned from Tokyo.
The athletes unveiled the gold cabinet after helping to apply the final touches of gold paint.
Mike Sharrock, Chief Executive of ParalympicsGB, said, “ParalympicsGB rewrote the record books at Tokyo 2020 with countless incredible performances to inspire and unite the nation. Painting these cabinets gold is a fitting tribute to the excellence and resilience of the athletes who competed in Tokyo and a wonderful way for the British public to have a lasting reminder of what they achieved. Tokyo 2020 was the most complex Games we have ever been involved in but also one that demonstrated the incredible impact these athletes can have in challenging perceptions of disability and proving that they truly are Impossible to Ignore.”
Simon Groves, Director of Brand and Marketing at Virgin Media O2, said, "As proud partners of ParalympicsGB, we've been blown away by the team's incredible medal-winning success in Tokyo. As well as supporting our Paralympians with our #WeAreHere campaign, we've given our cabinets the golden touch to mark the team's amazing achievement at the Games. Our cabinets are placed at the heart of communities across the UK and we hope that residents in London join us in welcoming ParalympicsGB home.”
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September 10, 2021
