Wednesday marked the start of 11 days of rigors combat at the Paris Paralympics in the city core. The first Paralympics opening ceremony was held away from the main location. It was held on the Seine, like the July Olympics opening ceremony. On August 12, French President Emmanuel Macron opened the Olympics in Place de la Concorde in the sun. July 26 rained.
Paralympic Games Begin in Paris 2024-25
The flame has become a city landmark since the Olympics. After the lights go out, the event ends. Paralympians from the new generation will combat veterans in numerous Olympic venues on Thursday.
From now until September 8, 18 of 35 Olympic locations will host Paralympics. The Grand Palais and its gorgeous roof were commended for holding fencing and taekwondo. Swimming returns to La Defence Arena, while track & field move to the purple track at the Stade de France.
Since the Olympics, ticket sales have increased. Over two million of the 2.5 million tickets have been sold, and several locations are full. The Games began at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, where the flame was lighted. It was transported to France via the Channel Tunnel and will be screened in French communities.
Thomas Jolly, who oversaw the Olympics’ opening ceremony, said holding the Paralympics in Paris, where wheelchair users can’t use the Metro, was symbolic.
“Putting Paralympic athletes in the heart of the city is already a political marker in the sense that the city is not sufficiently adapted to every handicapped person,” Jolly added.
Planners said Paris buses and 1,000 taxis can accommodate wheelchairs.
A strong Chinese group
Paralympics victory Three years ago, China won 96 gold medals at the Covid-delayed Games in Tokyo. There will be a strong team. Britain placed second with 41 golds.
France hopes to win more gold medals than its 11 in 2021, which placed it 14th, after watching how well its Olympic squad went. Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera predicts a top-8 finish for France.
The war with Russia made preparation difficult, but Ukraine, which has won numerous Paralympic medals, fielded 140 participants in 17 sports. Due to the invasion of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus will send 96 neutral-flagged athletes who cannot attend the opening and closing ceremonies.
New and veteran stars
Ezra Frech, an American runner and high jumper who lost a limb above the knee, could do well at the Games. Morteza Mehrzad, an 8-foot-1-inch (2.46 m) Iranian volleyball player, will strive to win gold again off the track.
International Paralympic Committee head Andrew Parsons told AFP earlier this year that the Paris games would make disability issues the world’s most significant. Parsons believes the Games “will change the way people all over the world think about disabled people in a big way.”
“This is one of the key expectations we have around Paris 2024; we believe that we need people with disability to be put back on the global agenda,” stated.
“We think disabled people have been forgotten.” People with disabilities are rarely mentioned.