A historic ceremony, for the first time outside the stadium, with more than 65,000 spectators
MADRID, 20 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) unveiled this Thursday the details of a historic opening ceremony for Paris 2024, since, like the Olympic Games, it will not be in a stadium, but on the Champs-Elysées and even Place de Concorde.
Up to 65,000 spectators will be able to attend the athletes’ debut and the next Games, on a stage in the heart of the French capital that the IPC hopes will send “a powerful message of inspiration and inclusion”.
The athletes will start their parade at the foot of the Champs-Elysées and arrive at the largest square in Paris, which offers a view of the city from the Louvre and the Tuileries Garden on the east side to the Arc de Triomphe on the west.
The Olympic Games will have their inauguration in the Seine, while the Paralympics, for the first time in history outside the stadium, will experience a special and unprecedented August 28, with “the aim of revolutionizing the lives of people with disabilities and French society in general.
“This ceremony in the heart of the city is a strong reflection of our ambition to build on the celebration of the first Paralympic Games in our country and put the issue of inclusion of people with disabilities at the heart of society,” said Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee.
“From choosing inclusion as the theme of Olympic and Paralympic Week 2023 to creating a Paralympic Day to spotlight athletes and allow the whole world to discover parasports, this opening ceremony in the heart of Paris exemplifies the high level of ambition we have for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games,” he added.
For his part, IPC President Andrew Parsons congratulated Paris 2024 on its exciting initiative. “On behalf of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Paralympic movement I want to express our immense excitement at Paris 2024’s bold and original plan to host the first Paralympic Games opening ceremony outside of a stadium. In a city that reverberates with history, Paris is creating a new moment in time that will be talked about for years,” he said.
Holding the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games outside of a stadium reflects the Paris 2024 motto “Let’s open up the Games big” and aligns with the Organizing Committee’s broader ambition to host sporting competitions in iconic locations around the world. city.
For example, blind football matches will be held at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, equestrian events in the gardens of the Château de Versailles, while wheelchair fencing and taekwondo will be held at the Grand Palais.
