Paris is for the first time to be a hosting city of Paralympics 2024 Games – the event will start on 28 August in Paris, and its highlight will be the Opening Ceremony held for the first time in history in the capital of France.
At 20:00 local time, Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elysees will host 4,400 Paralympic athletes from 184 delegations by marking the start of 11 days of competition from August 29.
This is an 11-day period of elite competition in 22 different sports. More than 549 awards are up for grabs, 4,400 athletes will compete in games for 128 countries, and all athletes have one or another form of disability.
The Canadian Paralympic Committee awarded longtime Paralympians Pat Anderson and Katarina Roxon the honor. They will carry the Canadian flag.
Lead by Thomas Jolly, the spectacle will “showcase the Paralympic sports and the values that they embody” said the Artistic Director for the Ceremonies across the Olympic and Paralympic Games of Paris 2024.
Describing the concept as “first and foremost a magnificent source of inspiration” Jolly promises “performances that have never been seen before” in a “spectacle that will unite spectators and television audiences worldwide around the unique spirit of the Paralympic Games 2024”.
The ceremony will again occur outside a stadium, with athletes parading down the famous avenue. It will culminate in a celebration and official opening of the Paralympics 2024 Games at the iconic square in front of thousands of spectators.
“What an incredible moment for our athletes, who will be part of a historic Opening Ceremony, on the world’s most famous avenue, surrounded by all the charm of Paris,” enthused Jitske Visser, Paralympic wheelchair basketball medallist, IPC Athletes’ Commission President and competitior at Paris 2024.
“This ceremony at the heart of the city is a strong symbol illustrating our ambition to capitalise on our country hosting its first-ever Paralympics 2024 Games to position the issue of inclusion for people with disabilities at the heart of our society,” said Tony Estanguet, Paris 2024 President.
“As our ambition is to be perceived and understood as the most transformational sport event on the planet, by having this atmosphere, it’s important,” he told The Associated Press on the eve of the opening ceremony.
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