I suppose I can only repeat what I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the opening ceremony of the winter olympics this evening. If my attitude towards that was rather naive and romanticised, then it is even worse for the Paralympics. As pretty much the only mega-event foregrounding people with disabilities, of course it will always have my wholehearted support. But as they just said on the evening news, Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in these games; it’s also the first such event since the beginning of the situation in Iran. As much as I love such celebrations of global unity, I’m afraid this evening it feels more out of place than ever.