Furious Paralympians slam Fortnum & Mason for inviting only able-bodied Olympians to champagne after-party after Paris medalists’ Buckingham Palace reception with King Charles

For British Paralympians basking in the aftermath of the success of 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 felt disadvantaged and left out when it became clear that despite being housed in the palace with their healthy Olympic counterparts on Thursday, they had not been invited to a lavish party at the luxury London department store.

Zac Shaw, a paralympic sprinter with a visual impairment who won silver in the mixed 4x100m and bronze in the 100m T12 in Paris, branded the snub as hurtful and unfair, adding that an attempt by Fortnum & Mason to blame the omission a ‘failed communication’ had only increased his sense of injustice.

“It’s just hurtful,” said 29-year-old Shaw. ‘You have situations like this so often, whether it’s about brands, prize money, or even organizing a Paralympic race during a competition.

“You have to choose your times to actually call it out.

‘For me yesterday it was under the same roof as the King and (with) all the Olympic and Paralympic medalists in one place, but the Paralympic medalists have to get in the car and drive home while the Olympic medalists get to enjoy a four-hour after-party with champagne bottles with their names engraved on them, it’s just unfair.’

Shaw’s first inkling that something was wrong came when one of his friends, an Olympic athlete, said they were going to the party at the upscale store, which bills itself as the home of “delicious food, joyful gifts and unforgettable experiences.” .

He and his partner Ali Smith, also a Paralympic sprinter, looked through their emails in case they had missed the invite, but soon realized the event was exclusive to Olympians.

After an attempt to contact Fortnum & Mason privately was met with silence, Shaw posted a message on social media directly asking the store why it had “hosted an afterparty for the Olympic medalists but made the decision to Paralympic medalists not to be invited’.

In a response Shaw posted to Instagram, a spokesperson for Fortnum & Mason apologized and said the store was planning to host another event for Paralympians.

The spokesperson further explained that the company’s five-storey Piccadilly store did not have enough space to accommodate both the Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

“A separate reception for Paralympians is in the works here at Fortnum, which will be announced shortly,” read the message.

‘We are very sorry that we were not able to do the two planned parties together, which would have been our preference, but we are limited on space and simply could not have fit everyone in at the same time.

“However, there was a communication error on our part here and we are truly sorry. We really hope that if we get everyone together to celebrate, we can make it right.

‘Thank you for your patience. We will contact you personally as soon as possible with the details.’

Fortnum & Mason have been contacted for further comment.