The opening ceremony of the Paris Paralympics has been held in the centre of the French capital, firing the starting gun on 11 days of intense competition.
Just as for the opening ceremony of the Olympics on the Seine in July, it took place away from the main stadium for the first time at a Paralympics.
In balmy weather – in contrast to the heavy rain that blighted the opening of the Olympics on July 26 – the games opened on Wednesday night in Place de la Concorde in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron.
When the sporting action begins on Thursday, a new generation of Paralympians will join seasoned veterans competing in many of the same venues that hosted Olympic sports.
A total of 18 of the 35 Olympic venues will be used for the Paralympics, which will run until September 8, including the Grand Palais, which scored rave reviews for its hosting of the fencing and taekwondo under an ornate roof.
The La Defense Arena will again host the swimming events, and track and field will take place on the purple track of the Stade de France.
Sluggish ticket sales have picked up since the Olympics and more than 2 million of the 2.5 million available have been sold with several venues sold out.
Organisers said wheelchair users can take Paris buses and they have laid on 1,000 specially adapted taxis as well.
The Paralympics always have a far wider message than simply sport, and International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons said he hopes the Paris edition will restore the issues facing disabled people to the top of the list of global priorities.
Parsons believes the games “will have a big impact in how people with disability are perceived around the world”.
“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,” the Brazilian said.
“We do believe people with disability have been left behind. There is very little debate about persons with disability.”
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