Clare Balding BBC Paralympic presenter

PARALYMPIC WORLD CUP Where: Manchester When: 12-15 May Sports: Wheelchair basketball, track cycling, swimming, athletics Guide: Sport-by-sport Schedule: Manchester 2005

Not only am I looking forward to this month's Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, I think it is really important in global terms.

For Britain to host an international event like this outside the Paralympics, I think, is a massive stride forward in the profile of disability sport.

They've just concentrated on the four sports for now - wheelchair basketball, swimming, athletics and track cycling - but I think it's just the start of things to come.

And hopefully if there is enough interest and ticket sales are good, the organisers can expand it in future years.

For the athletes, it is important to keep the momentum going between last year's Paralympics in Athens and Beijing 2008.

And it's vital for the BBC to keep people aware. We, I hope, can build the interest in the athletes as individuals as well as in terms of their performance.

There's a lot of dependence on Tanni Grey Thompson to be the flagbearer and it's time for the younger ones to step up Clare Balding

There is already an ongoing interest in the athletes we've invested a lot of emotion in and what they do when they're not in Athens or Beijing.

This is not just every four years dipping in because it's the Paralympics.

It's also a big opportunity for the Americans, South African, Australians and Chinese - who have been invited to come over - to test themselves in international competition.

I'm really looking forward to seeing South African amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius run.

He's incredibly fast and looks like, by Beijing, he might make the qualifying time for the Olympics, let alone the Paralympics.

Then there is the swimmer Natalie Du Toit, as well as the homegrown stars like Tanni Grey Thompson.

Certainly there aren't going to be many more chances to see Tanni in meaningful competition, so I'm looking forward to seeing her.

But it's also a chance for the next generation of stars to come through.

There's an awful lot of dependence on Tanni to be the flagbearer and it's time for the younger ones to step up.

Essentially, this is the best chance to see elite disability sport outside the Paralympic Games there's ever been, the tickets are immensely good value and people will be able to see top-class sport.