Rio Paralympic Games 'will be the biggest to date'

Next year's Rio Paralympics will be the biggest edition of the event to date, according to its organisers.

International Paralympic Committee president Sir Philip Craven said that he expects the 2016 games to surpass London 2012 and break records.

"Our aim is to build on the success of London 2012 and Sochi 2014," BBC Sport quotes him as saying.

"You could not ask for a more vibrant host city. Brazilians are huge lovers of sport."

There will be 4,350 athletes from 178 countries competing in the Rio 2016 Paralympics, with 528 medal events taking place across 22 sports, the most the tournament has ever hosted.

More than 3.3m tickets have gone on sale as the organisers are aiming to surpass the 2.8m that were sold for London 2012 with the help of heightened media interest.

The event will be held between September 7 and 18 next year.