New Delhi: Just like for the Olympics weeks earlier, Paris produced another glittering performance to declare the Paralympics open on Wednesday.
The opening ceremony was held at the centre of the French capital city, away from the main stadium for the first time in the sporting competition’s history.
While it rained heavily during the Olympics opening ceremony held at the Seine river on July 26, the weather was balmy when the Para Games was declared open in Place de la Concorde.
France President Emmanuel Macron was in attendance when the cauldron was lit to demote the culmination of the programme after the Paralympic flame that was lit at the birthplace of the Games in Stoke Mandeville hospital, England, were brought to France through the Channel Tunnel before embarking on a tour of French cities.
Over 4,400 athletes from 168 delegations of countries paraded with with the Arc de Triomphe providing a picturesque backdrop.
The events will be held in the same venues where the Olympic sporting events were held with 18 of the 35 venues used for the Paralympics that will be held till September 8.
The track and field events will take place at the Stade de France stadium while the swimming events will be held at the La Defense Arena, similarly to the Olympics.
💙🤍❤️#Paralympics pic.twitter.com/NI3X4c0P09
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 28, 2024
Over 2 million tickets sold
Ticket sales were initially sluggish but has picked up as the Paralympic opening date approach with over two million tickets already sold and only half a million more available to be bought.
The International Paralympic Committee hopes that the Paralympics highlights the issues of the people with disabilities and brings it to focus of the wider world.
“The Paralympics will have a big impact in how people with disability are perceived around the world,” the IPC president Andrew Parsons told AFP.
“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. We do believe people with disability have been left behind. There is very little debate about persons with disability,” the Brazilian added.
The Paralympics ceremony was directed by theatre director Thomas Jolly, who also masterminded the Olympics opening ceremony.
“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 had said, as quoted by AFP.
Javelin thrower Sumit Antil and shot putter Bhagyashri Jadhav were India’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony.
India have sent 84 athletes and 95 officials at Paris, making it their lrgest contingent at Paralympics with the aim of winning 25 medals, having won 19 medals (five gold, eight silver and six bronze) at Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, finishing 24th in the medals tally.
Javelin thrower Sumit Antil and shot putter Bhagyashri Jadhav were India’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of Paris Paralympics. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
