Paris 2024 Paralympic Games opens with spectacular ceremony at Champs-Élysées
Paris was back in the spotlight on Wednesday as athletes marched along the Champs-Élysées to commemorate the opening of the Paralympic Games.
Just weeks after the French capital hosted the Olympics, 4,400 athletes with disabilities, permanent injuries or impairments will now compete in 22 sports in the upcoming 11 days.
It is the first time Paris has hosted the Paralympic Games, which will run from August 29 to September 8.
A 'magnificent' opening ceremony to 'unite the world'
Tonight's opening ceremony showcased "the Paralympic athletes and the values that they embody", according to the artistic director for this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Describing the concept as "first and foremost a magnificent source of inspiration", Thomas Jolly promised "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”.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have wished ParalympicsGB "the very best of luck" ahead of tonight's opening ceremony
British astronaut John McFall carried the Paralympic flag at the opening ceremony of the games alongside French sailor Damien Seguin, to represent the whole Paralympic Games, rather than a specific county.
McFall said he was “truly honoured” to be given the opportunity.
McFall has had an inspiring career going from winning bronze medal in the 100m at the 2008 Paralympic Games to being selected by the European Space Agency as a member of the astronaut reserve, becoming the world’s first person with a disability to qualify for the role.
About 50,000 people watched the ceremony in stands built around the iconic square, which is the biggest in Paris and is visible from afar because of its ancient Egyptian Obelisk.
Under the gaze of French President Emmanuel Macron, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, fighter planes flew overhead, leaving red-white-and blue vapors in the colors of the French national flag, before the delegations entered the square in alphabetical order.
Some delegations were huge — more than 250 athletes from Brazil — and some were tiny — less than a handful from Barbados and just three from Myanmar.
Unlike the Olympic Games, the Paralympic ceremony did not travel down the Seine River but instead featured a parade of athletes down the Champs-Elysées to the ceremony at the Place de la Concorde.
Wheelchair basketball player Terry Bywater and wheelchair tennis athlete Lucy Shuker carried the Union Flag for ParalympicsGB during Wednesday's ceremony.
The GB flagbearers are voted for by their teammates, with all 215 athletes getting a vote and every sport allowed to nominate a representative for selection.
The Paralympic flame was lit on Saturday in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London widely considered the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, and then made its way via a torch relay under the English Channel to cities all over France.
High hopes for medals
ParalympicsGB came second overall in the medal table at Tokyo 2020, with a total of 41 golds, 38 silvers and 45 bronzes.
The team will be hoping to win as many - if not more - podium spots this time around.
Among the athletes expected to dominate their events in the next couple of weeks is 13-year-old Iona Winniforth, who is ranked number one in the world in the 100m breaststroke.
She is one of the youngest-ever Paralympic competitors and has already achieved more than many professional swimmers do in their entire career.
Liam McGarry is also hoping to do well at this summer's Games, competing in the men's weightlifting.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who is the royal patron of the British Paralympic Association, also wished competitors luck at the Games
He has been setting UK weightlifting records in recent months and is hoping to make a name for himself on the international stage. In 2021, he picked up silver at the Manchester 2021 Para Powerlifting World Cup breaking the British record.
Which sports are featured?
Of all the Paralympic sports, there are only two that don't have an Olympic equivalent - goalball and boccia.
Goalball features teams of visually impaired or blind players take turns rolling a ball containing bells towards the opposing goal while the defending team’s players act as goalkeepers. In boccia, players throw or roll leather balls as close as they can to a small ball called a jack.
Here is a full list of the sports at this year's Games:
Blind football;
Boccia;
Goalball;
Para archery;
Para athletics;
Para canoe;
Para cycling road;
Para cycling track;
Para equestrian;
Para judo;
Para powerlifting;
Para rowing;
Para swimming;
Para table tennis;
Para taekwondo;
Para triathlon;
Shooting para sport;
Sitting volleyball;
Wheelchair basketball;
Wheelchair fencing;
Wheelchair tennis.
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