Rio's Engenhao stadium set for paralympic test

The world's best para-athletes will fine-tune their preparations for the Rio 2016 Games in an official test event at the Engenhao stadium in May, the organisers said.

"Because it's a test event, everybody is going to want to participate in the Grand Prix," the head of Brazil's paralympic committee chief Edilson Alves da Rocha told O Globo on Saturday, reported Xinhua.

"It will be a mini world championship with the same event program as the Paralympics."

The three-day competition, which will double as Rio's leg of the international para-athletics Grand Prix circuit, will feature about 400 athletes from 40 countries.

The Engenhao stadium will also host Olympic track and field events.

The Rio Paralympics will be held from September 7 to 18 next year, following the first Olympic Games in South America.