The cauldron flew into the sky… The Paralympic Games are open

This live broadcast is over.

It’s the big night for the Paralympic Games. The opening ceremony kicks off the festivities on Wednesday, August 28, before 11 days of competition. A majority of the 4,400 para-athletes, representing 168 delegations, paraded in front of nearly 50,000 spectators gathered between the Champs-Elysées (15,000 free seats) and the Place de la Concorde (35,000 paying seats). After speeches by Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, and Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, the French Head of State, Emmanuel Macron, declared:The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games are open!

Théo Curin opens the ball. The ceremony began with a film featuring French disabled swimmer Théo Curin, giving a voice to athletes from the French Team at the wheel of a taxi full of Phryges. Musician and composer Chilly Gonzales took over, surrounded on stage by able-bodied and disabled dancers, before a performance by Christine and the Queens and a flyover by the Patrouille de France.

Tony Estanguet’s message “on inclusion”. “ There are few events that can make the world a better place. The Paralympic Games have this unmatched power, not only to thrill us but to transform us,” said Tony Estanguet, the president of Paris 2024, during his speech at the opening ceremony.

Nantenin Keïta and Alexis Hanquinquant, blue flag bearers. They were at the head of the French delegation during the parade. Before going to aim for Olympic gold, once again.The visually impaired athlete Nantenin Keïta won it eight years ago in the 400 m in Rio. Alexis Hanquinquant, 38, is the overwhelming favorite in his category in triathlon. The reigning Paralympic champion and six-time world champion, he has been undefeated in international competition since 2017.

A family and popular success in sight ? Of the 2.5 million tickets put on sale in October, 2 million found buyers, a dynamic reinforced by the Olympic effect. Nearly 200 000 of them will be awarded to schoolchildren, in a period marked by the start of the school year on September 2. A total of 165 television channels will follow the event, a record in the history of the Paralympic Games.