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≡ THE OPENING ≡
The XVII Paralympic Games opened in Paris on Wednesday, with another outdoor ceremony, this time in clear, 85-degree conditions at the historic Place de la Concorde, in a temporary stadium with a huge stage surrounding the Luxor Obelisk.
Themed “From discord to concord,” the opening show included the obligatory video with popular French television personality Theo Curin, a 2016 Paralympic swimmer, from “Theo Le Taxi.”
The parade of nations – 168 delegations, representing a total of about 4,400 athletes – on the Champs-Elysees and into the Place de la Concorde, began in twilight at 8:12 p.m. Paris time, with three delegations, from Eritrea, Kiribati and Kosovo, appearing for the first time.
The U.S., as at the Olympic Games, came in at 9:54 p.m., next-to-last as the host for the next Paralympic Games, led by flagbearers four-time Paralympian and two-time gold medalist Steve Serio (wheelchair basketball) and 2016 Paralympic champion Nicky Nieves (sitting volleyball). Hosts France followed.
China has the largest delegation, expected to be 284 athletes, followed by France (239 expected), with the U.S. third at 220 (plus five guides).
The parade ended about 10:07 p.m. with the delegations seated, followed with an uplifting sequence that saluted the growth of the Paralympic Movement.
Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet addressed both the athletes and the audience, including:
“Tonight, you are inviting us to change our perspectives, change our attitudes, change our society to finally give every person their full place.
“Because when the sport starts, we will no longer see men and women with a disability, we will see you: we will see champions.
“With you, we are going to re-live all the most beautiful things that sport has to offer. …
“[Y]our power is such that each of your victories will also make a whole country change. Thanks to you, each of your victories will help to move the world forward. Because every emotion that you make us feel will carry a message that will never be forgotten.
“You have no limits: so let us stop imposing limits on you. That is the Paralympic revolution.
“A gentle revolution, but one that is going to profoundly change every one of us, forever.”
And remembering the enormous and loud crowds during the Olympic Games, he promised, happily, “An atmosphere as crazy as your collective achievements.”
International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons (BRA) told attendees and viewers that the event goes beyond simply sport:
“At a time of growing global conflict, increasing hate, and rising exclusion, let sport be the social glue that brings us together.
“Here at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, we will celebrate what makes us different, show there is strength in difference, beauty in difference, and that difference serves as a powerful force for good. …
“Paralympic athletes are not here to participate. They’re not playing games. They are here to compete, win, and smash world records.
“Paralympians are also here to achieve something far greater than personal glory. They want equality and inclusion for themselves and for the world’s 1.3 billion persons with disabilities.
“Through their performances Paralympic athletes will challenge stigma, alter attitudes, and redefine the limits of what you think is possible.
“The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will show what persons with disabilities can achieve at the highest level when the barriers to succeed are removed.
“The fact these opportunities largely exist only in sport in the year 2024 is shocking. It is proof we can and must do more to advance disability inclusion -whether on the field of play, in the classroom, concert hall or in the boardroom.
“That is why 225 years on from when Place de la Concorde was central to the French Revolution, I hope the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games spark an inclusion revolution.”
The Paralympic Flame, once again using the innovative balloon cauldron in the Tuileries Garden, was brought down the Champs-Elysees by French swim star Florent Manaudou – winner of two bronzes during the 2024 Olympic Games – brought the torch into the stadium, where it was passed to four others during a torch-lit ceremony with 150 other torchbearers!
American star Oksana Masters passed the flame to German long jump champ Markus Rehm, who ran it out of the stadium and into the Tuileries Garden and began another set of passes, to five more torchbearers, before the final lighting.
French Paralympic stars Alexis Hanquinquant (triathlon) and Nantenin Keita (athletics) took the torch to the lighting place, joined by Fabien Lamirault (table tennis), Elodie Lorandi (swimming) and Charles-Antoine Kouakou (athletics), and all five lit the cauldron, which again rose majestically into the night.
A final performance of French singer Patrick Hernandez’s 1978 disco hit “Born to be Alive” by Christine and the Queens wrapped it up at 11:40 p.m. Paris time. The competitions begin at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
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“We have almost two million tickets sold, out of a total of 2.5 million.”
That’s Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet, adding that 84 organizing committee sponsors and suppliers have purchased Paralympics tickets. Combined with the French government purchase of about 200,000 tickets for use by school children, about 700,000 tickets have been purchased.
FrancsJeux.com reported that, in parallel with the Olympic Games, 70 festival sites across France have been organized for the Paralympics, and 25 National Paralympic Committees have “national houses,” many at the Parc de la Villette, as at the Olympic Games. The story also noted that Paris 2024:
“had sold 565,000 tickets for the para athletics sessions at the Stade de France, a number that surpasses the record of 530,000 seats set at the World Athletics Championships, held at the same venue in 2003.”
The Paralympic Games will close on 8 September.
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The Russian Paralympic Committee said that two of its athletes (out of 90) were refused visas by the French government, adding
“This is unacceptable for a country that hosts such major sporting events as the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We view the refusal to issue visas to Paralympic athletes who are citizens of the Russian Federation as yet another step toward the politicization of sport. It is especially sad that this decision concerns people with disabilities who strive for high sporting achievements.”
The Russians asked the Paris 2024 organizers and the International Paralympic Committee to appeal the refusals to the French government.
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