Organizers hail success of London Paralympics

Paul Deighton, chief executive of the London organizing committee, says around $71.7 million is expected to be raised in ticket sales at the games, exceeding initial expectations of $55.7 million.

Deighton says more than 2.7 million tickets have been sold, surpassing the previous best-attended games in Beijing four years ago by 900,000. The 11-day games, which end Sunday, have been broadcast in more than 100 countries.

Xavi Gonzalez, chief executive of the International Paralympic Committee, says on Thursday "we have seen the media changing their focus to the athleticism and the competition, and we have seen a lot more athletes being portrayed and becoming more popular."