The Olympic Games in Brazil will be followed next month by the Paralympics, which throw down a challenge to prejudice across the world but especially in the host nation

When the Paralympics start on September 7 in Rio de Janeiro, it will be the fifteenth time that the summer games have been run but the first time they have taken place place in a Latin American nation.

During the London 2012 Paralympics, tickets came close to selling out, with 2.7 million sold in total. The television audience was also the biggest ever as an estimated 4 billion people tuned in, indicating a growing acceptance of disabled people and their sporting skills. Four years later, the Paralympics face a crisis. The Rio organising committee has run out of money during the Olympics and has warned it does not have £6m for the travel costs of Paralympic teams from the poorest nations of Africa and Asia. Rio is asking the Brazil government to help but the fact that the money was spent on the able-bodied Olympics indicates the games for the disabled have second priority in Brazil.

However, in the four years since London, Brazil has strengthened its Paralympic programme, and this year will field its biggest team ever. Two hundred and thirty-nine Brazilians will compete in all 23 sports. The team hopes to improve on its 2012 performance, when they finished seventh in the medal count.