Parallel - No Limits Living

So, today we should have been welcoming 10,000 people to the iconic Windsor Great Park & Long Walk for the inaugural Parallel Windsor. But like many other events we were a casualty of Covid-19.

We have certainly been on a journey since our first Parallel in 2016, which we staged in the Olympic Park in London.

Our agency, innovision, created Parallel as a social enterprise to tackle one of our greatest social problems – disability inclusion. Our social mission is ‘to enable disabled people to live life to the full in mainstream society’. This cuts across work, home, and play.

Using our knowledge and expertise in creating large-scale events for some of the world’s most innovative brands; we designed a format that combined mass participation with a Festival of Inclusivity. This enabled us to encourage people of all ages and abilities to get active, connect socially and create a dynamic and innovative shared experience of disability.

After just 2 years our work was recognised at The Sports Industry Awards, where we won Best Participation Event of the Year and the Diversity & Inclusion Award.

Sadly, the ever-shrinking footprint in the Olympic Park caused by the developers and the uncertainty of ever-changing TV schedules due to Premier League football in the London Stadium cut short our tenancy. There were no alternative venues to be found in London that could support a fully accessible large-scale event, so with heavy heart we had to skip 2018.

Whilst searching for a new home, I was introduced to the Crown Estate by Andrew Thomas, who was organising one of his many excellent networking dinners when he was at The Agitos Foundation. I discovered the Crown Estate managed The Windsor Great Park, who warmly embraced our event and social mission.

However, 2019 saw the Windsor Great Park play host to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and two Royal Weddings. But the sheer excitement of hosting our event in such an historic location, against the backdrop of Windsor Castle far outweighed the disappointment of once again having to skip yet another year.

Today, it gives me enormous pleasure to announce Parallel Windsor 2021 and to save the date for 27 June. I promise it will be one of the best events of the year and it will be well worth the wait.

Parallel Windsor will return as a hybrid participation event, combining in-person and virtual mass participation. This will also launch our new virtual series, Parallel X. Our Festival of Inclusivity will be even bigger, showcasing the very best of active lifestyle, entertainment, music, art, fashion, technology, and mobility.

Our content platform, Parallel Beats will bring to life #StoriesForAll by shining a light on everyday stories of people who are making a positive impact on society through the power of inclusion. And, of course, our own vibrant community of volunteers will be back in action – we call them our VIPs – ‘Very Inclusive People’.

Our aim is to establish Parallel Windsor as a national celebration of disability inclusion, with no burden to the public purse. As a social enterprise, our ambition is to create a sustainable event, which creates tangible social impact, whilst also serving as a platform for charitable fund-raising. 

There are are lots of ways to get involved or support; through participation, charitable fund-raising, sponsorship, volunteering, value-in-kind or just simply tell people about the event who you think may like to get involved… I should also say that our Festival of Inclusivity is free to enter.

But here is the thing..... In the UK 83% of people with disabilities acquire their disability through accident, illness, or old age. To put that into numbers, that is about 11.5 million people.

By creating a kind, healthy, tolerant, inclusive, and accessible society today, it future-proofs our basic human right of no limits living.