Angry Paralympians blast Fortnum & Mason over Olympic after-party snub

For British Paralympians basking in the afterglow of success at the Paris Games, a champagne after-party at Fortnum & Mason promised the perfect end to a day of hobnobbing with the King at Buckingham Palace.

Instead, Paralympic athletes were left feeling aggrieved and excluded as it became apparent that, despite being jointly hosted at the palace alongside their able-bodied Olympic counterparts on Thursday, they were not invited to a lavish bash at the luxury London department store afterwards.

Zac Shaw, a Paralympic visually impaired sprinter who won silver in the mixed 4x100m and bronze in the 100m T12 in Paris, branded the snub hurtful and unfair, adding that an attempt by Fortnum & Mason to blame the omission on a ‘failure of communication’ had only compounded his sense of injustice.

‘It's just hurtful,’ said Shaw, 29. ‘You have situations like this so frequently, whether it's brands, prize money, even hosting a Paralympic race at a competition.

‘You have to pick your times to actually call it out.

‘For me, yesterday, being under the same roof as the King and [with] all the Olympic and Paralympic medallists in one place, but the Paralympic medallists have to get in the car and drive home while the Olympic medallists get to enjoy a four-hour after-party with champagne bottles with their name engraved into it, it's just unfair.’

Shaw’s first inkling that something was amiss came when one of his friends, an Olympic athlete, mentioned they were going on to the party at the upmarket store, which styles itself as the home of ‘delicious food, joy-giving gifts and unforgettable experiences’.

He and his partner Ali Smith, also a Paralympic sprinter, trawled through their emails in case they had missed the invitation, but soon realised the event was exclusively for Olympians.

After an attempt to contact Fortnum & Mason privately was met by silence, Shaw posted a message on social media asking the store directly why it had hosted ‘an after-party for the Olympic medallists but made the decision not to invite the Paralympic medallists’.

In a reply posted by Shaw on Instagram, a spokesperson for Fortnum & Mason apologised and said the store planned to hold another function for Paralympians.

The spokesperson went on explain that the company’s five-floor, 65,000 sq ft Piccadilly store had insufficient space to accommodate both the Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

‘There is a separate reception for Paralympians in the works here at Fortnum's which will be announced soon,’ read the message.

‘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.

‘However, there has been a failure of communication on our part here and we are truly sorry. We really hope to make it up to you when we get everyone together to celebrate.

‘Thank you for your patience and we will get back to you personally with the details soonest.’

British wheelchair racer Hannah Cockcroft, a nine-time Paralympic champion, echoed Shaw's disappointment over the store's decision.

'I remember being invited to Fortnums after London 2012 and it was such a special experience,' Cockcroft wrote on social media. 

'What a shame to see they’ve taken a step further back from equity rather than continuing to be front runners. We own a piece of the Eiffel Tower too, our medals are just as special!'

A spokesperson for Fortnum & Mason said: 'We entered into this with good intentions but recognise that we have made a mistake here, for which we fully apologise. 

'We have been planning for, and of course will be honoured to host, a ParalympicsGB celebratory event at Fortnum’s and an invitation to do that has been made, but we do understand the hurt we have caused by not making our plans clear to the athletes earlier.'