IPC President Andrew Parsons was among 500 guests present, also including IPC founding President Robert Steadward and International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president Ugur Erdener.

"It is an absolute honour and privilege to welcome you all to this very special evening as we celebrate 30 fantastic years of the IPC," Parsons said.

"How fitting it is that we celebrate three decades of achievements here in Bonn, a city that has been our home for the last 20 years.

"So much progress has been made in the last 30 years and this is testament to the tremendous efforts of many, many people.

"This includes the IPC membership, IPC staff, volunteers, classifiers, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), commercial and media partners, my predecessors - Dr Bob Steadward and Sir Philip Craven - and, of course, the athletes.

"We have achieved a lot in three decades, probably more than anyone expected with the resources available to us.

"But, what is most exciting is that I think we are only scratching the surface."

The event featured a look back at IPC history, with the organisation having been founded in Dusseldorf on September 22 in 1989.

Steadward joined Parsons on stage to discuss the early years of the IPC, where he outlined the importance of having a close relationship with the IOC.

The IPC say the celebration event also had a look forward to the future.

Video messages were received from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Prince Albert II of Monaco and UNICEF Executive Director Henrieta H. Fore also contributed messages.

IPC Athletes' Council chairperson Chelsey Gotell spoke at the event, with Australian Kurt Fearnley and India's Deepa Malik.

The three Paralympians gave views on what they hope the IPC can achieve in the next 30 years.

Six Paralympic Orders were awarded to conclude the evening.

The first was posthumously given to Jose Luis Campo, the former President of the Americas Paralympic Committee who passed away in October 2017.

Parsons paid tribute to his mentor, where he recalled preparations for the 2003 Parapan American Games.

"I remember back in 2003 when Santo Domingo could not organise the Parapan American Games, that Jose Luis Campo said: 'We will do it.'" Parsons said.

"And he delivered a Parapan a year after delivering a Para Swimming World Championships, both in Mar del Plata.

"I remember we had a three-sport programme, but with passion he kept adding sports and, by the end of the Parapan, we had nine sports.

"I cannot forget how happy he was when we delivered the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games in Rio in 2007 with the same Organising Committee.

"Now, you must by contract organise the Parapan Am Games if you want to organise the Pan Am Games, and that is thanks to Jose Luis Campo.

"He also created the Youth Parapan American Games, he made a huge contribution to the athletes in the Americas.

"When I was elected IPC President in Abu Dhabi, he silently waited in the corner.

"He must have stayed there for over an hour to give me the last hug and it was the best hug of that General Assembly.

"It was difficult to accept and to understand that he had passed away.

"He had a heart attack in a fundraising event to fight cancer.

"That was Jose Luis Campo, the most generous man I ever met."

Former IPC Governing Board member Alan Dickson was also present with a Paralympic Order, the IPC's highest honour.

France's Rudi van den Abbeele, World Para Powerlifting's Bassam Qasrawi, Iran's Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa and former IPC Chief Operating Officer and Agitos Foundation Director Georg Schlachtenburger were also presented with Paralympic Orders.