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The Paris Paralympics start on Wednesday with an exciting opening ceremony. The city is still celebrating its successful Olympics, and now it’s time for the Paralympics, which will run until September 8.
Many of the venues used for the Olympics will host Paralympic events, including the Grand Palais, which was praised for its fencing and taekwondo events. The La Defense Arena and the Stade de France will also be used again.
The opening ceremony will take place in Place de la Concorde, a central square in Paris where urban sports were held during the Olympics. This is the first time the Paralympics will have its opening ceremony in a location other than the main stadium.
The Paralympic flame was lit in Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, and brought to Paris through the Channel Tunnel.
Theatre director Thomas Jolly, who also directed the Olympics ceremony, said putting the Paralympic ceremony in the heart of Paris is a significant gesture. Paris’s Metro system, in particular, is not very accessible for wheelchair users, highlighting the need for better accessibility.
Paris has made some efforts to improve accessibility, with wheelchair-friendly buses and 1,000 adapted taxis available. Ticket sales have improved recently, with over 1.9 million tickets sold.
This year’s Games will introduce new stars like Ezra Frech, a 19-year-old American sprinter and high jumper with a below-the-knee amputation. Also returning is British sprinter Jonnie Peacock, a well-known athlete aiming for a medal at his fourth Paralympics. Iranian sitting volleyball player Morteza Mehrzad, who is 8ft 1in tall, will also be competing.
The Paralympics are about more than just sports. International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons hopes the Paris Games will highlight issues faced by people with disabilities and bring them to the forefront of global discussions.
China, a dominant force in the Paralympics, will send a strong team, aiming to repeat its success from the Tokyo Games, where it won 96 gold medals. France, the host country, hopes to improve on the 11 gold medals it won in 2021. Ukraine will also send a large team, despite the difficulties caused by the ongoing war with Russia.
Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete under a neutral flag but cannot take part in the opening and closing ceremonies due to their countries’ suspension following the invasion of Ukraine.
