On the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, on Wednesday, August 28, nearly 4,400 athletes are expected to parade on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, for a total of 168 delegations, including the Refugee Paralympic Team. A record, announced the International Paralympic Committee, which welcomes three new committees: Eritrea, the Kiribati Islands and Kosovo.
The French delegation has 237 athletes involved, including 82 women, represented by flag bearers Alexis Hanquinquant (para-triathlon) and Nantenin Keita (para-athletics). Schedule, TV channel, program… Here’s everything you need to know to follow the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games live.
What is the program for the opening ceremony?
Orchestrated by artistic director Thomas Jolly, the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games has not yet revealed all its secrets. On the menu already known, an opening in the heart of the city, with a parade on the Champs-Élysées followed by a show on the Place de la Concorde. Entitled “Paradox”, it will highlight “all bodies”said Thomas Jolly. The musical signature is once again that of Victor Le Masne, composer of the Olympic anthem, while the choreographer is the Swede Alexander Ekman, who has imagined five tableaux.
“The whole show is a deconstruction of the blue, white, red with silver and gold to recall the medals.revealed French designer Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, recruited to create 700 outfits. This flag, it is important to make it perhaps more elegant because it is Paris, the capital of fashion, to also bring other know-how.
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Where will the lighting of the cauldron take place?
As with the Olympic Games, the lighting of the Paralympic cauldron will take place in the Tuileries Gardens at the end of the opening ceremony. A victim of its own success, it will be accessible throughout the competition, by reservation.
Slots are already fully booked for the first day of the opening, August 29, but others are still available until the end of the Games. On the other hand, it will be possible to watch the takeoff of the cauldron for free on Wednesday, unlike on other days.
How many spectators are expected?
Some 50,000 people are expected for the ceremony, including 15,000 seats open to the public at the bottom of the Champs-Élysées and 35,000 spectators in the stands at Place de la Concorde. Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez mentioned traffic “complicated” in the centre of the capital on Wednesday, while part of the anti-terrorist security perimeter closed to traffic will be activated from 7 a.m., and the whole perimeter at 2 p.m.
What time will the opening ceremony start?
The Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony will begin at 8 p.m. on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and the Place de la Concorde, and will end at around 11:15 p.m.
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On which TV channel can I watch the opening ceremony live?
As with the Olympic Games, the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games will be broadcast on France 2. A live broadcast will also be provided on our website, ouest-france.fr.
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