Fortnum & Mason party snub was hurtful, Paralympian says

Paralympians have criticised the decision by Fortnum & Mason to hold an event for Olympians but neglect to invite any Paralympic athletes.

Team GB and Paralympics GB medallists attended a reception at Buckingham Palace on Thursday, but Paralympians were not invited to an after-party hosted by the luxury department store.

Zac Shaw, a Paralympic visually impaired sprinter, called it "hurtful" and said it was part of a "wider issue" in how disabled athletes are treated.

Fortnum & Mason has apologised for the "mistake" and said a separate Paralympics event is being organised.

"It's a sad reality that we always have to fight for equality," Shaw, 29, said. "The thing that hurt the most was that we were both at the palace at the same time so it wasn’t a case of us being at different locations. It was one event and we didn’t get invited."

Shaw, who won silver in the mixed 4x100m and bronze in the 100m T12 in Paris, said he only realised after one of his friends in Team GB asked if he needed a lift to the after-party, but after a trawl of his emails, Shaw and his partner Ali Smith - also a Paralympic sprinter - did not find an invite.

After ing Fortnum & Mason twice in a 24 hour period and not receiving a response, he decided to post publicly on X.

Once his post gained traction, he said he was messaged by representatives of the London upmarket department store.

Fortnum & Mason then sent Smith a private message, saying that there was a "separate reception for Paralympians in the works" which would be announced soon.

The store apologised for the "failure of communication".

The message read: "We are really sorry that we could not do both of the planned parties together, which would have been our preference, but we are restricted on space and simply could not have fitted everyone in at the same time."

But Shaw said the response appeared "reactionary" and "very much reads as an excuse".

"It doesn't seem like it was even thought of until there was a backlash."

He added: "If they had wanted to do an event for us, we would have known about it before. And if they really wanted us there, the venue could have been bigger."

Shaw also said that hosting a separate event at a later date did not take into the difficulty for many disabled athletes in travelling to London.

"Accessibility is difficult for people with disabilities and it’s just ignorant and upsetting that they even had the thought to do it after.

"And in this situation, even if you only have room for a certain number of athletes, why would you not prioritise the ones with accessibility needs":[]}