The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has participated in every summer and winter Paralympic Games.

While the Olympic Games find their origins in Ancient Greece, post-war Britain, and specifically the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, is recognised as the spiritual birthplace and home of the Paralympic movement.

From 2024 onwards every Paralympic flame will first be lit in Stoke Mandeville Hospital in a deliberate echo of the ceremonies that take place before each modern Olympic Games at Olympia.

The President of the IPC, Andrew Parsons formally recognised the analogous place Great Britain and Stoke Mandeville play in the Paralympic movement to Greece and Olympia in the Olympic movement in 2024: “For everyone involved in the Paralympic Movement, Stoke Mandeville represents sacred and cherished ground...It is here 76 years ago that the visionary pioneer Sir Ludwig Guttmann created the Paralympic Movement.” [1][2] Great Britain has performed particularly well at the Summer Paralympic Games, consistently finishing among the top five in the medal tables - a marginally better performance than that achieved by Great Britain at the Olympics until the 21st century - reflecting the country's sustained connection to, and continuing deep support for, the Games.

Combining these results, the British team is positioned in second place on the all-time Paralympic Games medal table.

The 2012 Games were very strongly supported by the British public, and the British broadcast and print media, and the press in Great Britain continue to give significant coverage to the event, and to paralympic sport in other formats, such as para-sport in the Commonwealth Games and European Para Championships.

Although the country uses the name "Great Britain", athletes from Northern Ireland are entitled to compete as part of British delegations on the same terms as at the Olympic Games.

Prior to 2020, the record had been held for decades by swimmer Mike Kenny who also won 16 individual gold medals, as well as two relay silvers, in four Games.

[9] Great Britain's first Winter Paralympic gold was earned at the Sochi 2014 Games by Kelly Gallagher and guide Charlotte Evans in the Women's super-G visually impaired.

In doing so, Great Britain has remained consistently near the top of the table, while the fortunes of other giants such as the United States, China and Russia have risen and fallen.