Paris wants to leave behind the ‘most spectacular Paralympic Games in history’

Boldly and with the support of the crowds in the stands, Paris hosts the Paralympic Games for the first time, believing that the participation of 4,400 athletes competing in iconic venues will help the world change the way we think about disability.

Over the course of 11 days, the city will host athletes from 185 countries, including 27 Portuguese, at 18 venues that recently hosted Olympic competitions, competing in 22 Paralympic disciplines in 549 sports.

As with the Olympic Games, the organizing committee has made a point of holding the Paralympic competitions, which bring together athletes from four of the five disability groups (intellectual, motor, visual and cerebral palsy), in the heart of the city, with the opening ceremony planned for the Place de la Concorde.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, responsible for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, are promising that France will be the stage for the “most spectacular event in history”, the origins of which go back to 1948, when neurosurgeon Ludwig Guttmann organised a sporting event for World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries (in wheelchairs) in the English town of Stoke Mandeville.

“We believe Paris 2024 will be the most spectacular Games ever, not only because it will once again have an audience, unlike Tokyo 2020, but also because there is no indoor Olympic Park and the venues are spread across the incredible city of Paris,” IPC President Andrew Parsons recently admitted.

With the government investing and spending millions and millions on significant improvements to accessibility in transport and public spaces, as well as programmes that prepare local clubs to welcome people with disabilities, IPC officials are confident that the legacy of the first Paralympic Games in France will go away.

“In three, four, 10 years, French society will be more inclusive, not only in terms of attitudes but also in terms of its infrastructure,” Parsons acknowledged, suggesting he is keen to absorb the impact of the competition that will take place between August 28 and September 8.

Organisers of the broadcast to nearly 170 countries are aiming to surpass the combined audience record of 4.1 billion people for the Tokyo 2020 Games held in 2021 and make the Games a “showcase”.

“Obviously, we don’t want disabled people to have opportunities just as athletes, but in the workforce, in society. So Paralympic sport is a great example, a great showcase. But we want to see that spread into other areas of people’s lives,” Parsons said.

Without Russia as a country for the third time in a row (now due to the military intervention in Ukraine, after being absent from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 due to doping scandals) and with the largest refugee team ever, the Games will bring together 4,400 athletes who will ensure that they are ready to “compete” and not just “play”, in a competition program identical to Tokyo 2020.

Three years ago, China was the country with the most medals won with 207, including 96 gold, followed by Great Britain with 124 (41 gold) and the United States with 104 (37 gold), and the trend should continue this year.

Paris also wants to make history as the Paralympic Games host with the greatest gender balance: 45% of athletes are women, surpassing the historic record of 42% achieved three years ago in the Japanese capital.

In less than two weeks, the City of Light will replace the Olympic rings with the Agitos, the symbol of the Paralympic Movement, with three asymmetrical crescents in red, blue and green, whose name comes from Latin and means “I am in motion”.