LThe opening ceremony of the Paris Paralympic Games began on Wednesday evening with the screening of a film featuring disabled swimmer Théo Curin in a taxi covered in Phryges, the event’s mascots.
In this first sequence, Théo Curin, 24, drives a red taxi to give a voice to athletes from the French team.
Having had all four limbs amputated at the age of six following meningitis, the swimmer was the main face of disabled sport in France before giving up competition.
He took part in his first Paralympic Games in Rio in 2016 at the age of 16, then became double vice-world champion in 2017. He has since turned to animation.
This video thus takes up the principle of his show Theo the taxibroadcast every Thursday on France 3, before the Paris Games.
Special feature this time: his taxi is completely covered, both inside and out, with Phryges stuffed animals of different sizes, the red mascot of the Paris Games inspired by the Phrygian cap and equipped with a prosthetic leg in its Paralympic version.
Conceived by artistic director Thomas Jolly, the opening ceremony, which takes place in the heart of the capital, Place de la Concorde, is expected to last more than three hours.
Later in the evening, some 4,400 para-athletes will parade from the Champs-Elysées to the square, where performances will take place on a central stage, in a show very focused on the body, entitled Paradox.
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games also began with a video showing comedian Jamel Debbouze entering an empty Stade de France with a torch in his hand, before passing it to football icon Zinédine Zidane.
