Paris 2024 Paralympics Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony

The Ceremony alike the Olympic opener was performed outside of a stadium setting and began on the Place de la Concorde in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower with a film based Welcome to Paris and introduction of French President Emmanuel Macron and IPC President Andrew Parsons. 

The central stage began to fill with performers with an operatic musical interlude as the Phryges-clad Taxi from the opening film entered the arena and the Taxi driver and French Swimmer Théo Curin to a tricolour firework display as he did the Welcome to Paris.

This was followed by Christine and the Queens singing Non Je Regrette Rien made famous by Edith Piaf and then a flypast of the French Red Arrows (Patrouille de France) lit the sky up with tricolour smoke trails. 

The parade of the flags and Athletes began with GB's representatives being Terry Bywater (Wheelchair Basketball) and Lucy Shuker (Wheelchair Tennis) with the Arc De Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées as the superb backdrop. A lengthy parade of the 168 nations culminated in the future hosts of Australia (Brisbane 2032) and USA (Los Angeles 2028) before a huge atmosphere for hosts France. 

The next section was titled ' My Ability' with a focus on the abilities gained from disabilities before the central stage saw the artist Lucky Love singing “My Ability” with performers around him on the stage. A montage of the emotions from past games followed with a recognition of the rise in the amount of Paralympians to the current Paris total of 4400 and the rising of the French flag as La Marseillaise played. 

Due to the delay in my Olympics coverage and the subsequent catch-up needed, a first ever crossover is needed to prevent the Paralympics facing the same delay. So while the Olympics coverage will continue to be caught up, the Paralympic coverage begins with the Opening Ceremony. 

The official section of the Ceremony began with President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee Tony Estanguet and IPC President Andrew Parsons giving speeches praising the Athletes and officially opening the Games via French president Emmanuel Macron. The next section - Sportography featured the performing groups from earlier on but coming together in a mix of dance and sport as a team, where people with and without disabilities invent new sports in which everyone can participate. 

After such a superb performance of choreography, the Paralympic flag was carried onto the stage and then raised accompanied by the Paralympic Anthem and stunning harmony from Luan Pommier. This was followed by the Paralympic Oath being read out before the Paralympic Flame travelled down the Champs-Élysées and paraded across the stage during a chorographical flame performance to Ravel's 'Bolero'.

Alike the Olympic flame, the Paralympic flame uses the hot-air balloon cauldron as the flames home for the next 11 days and after its igniting by the quintet of Charles-Antoine Kouakou, Nantenin Keita (Both Para Athletics), Fabien Lamirault (Para Table Tennis), Alexis Hanquinquant (Para Triathlon) and Elodie Lorandi (Para Swimming).

Christine and the Queens returned with an upbeat catchy tune to round off the Ceremony which ended with a huge firework display as seen in the adjacent images. A truly superb Opening Ceremony, the best I have seen in the 12 years on this blog since the debuting blog back in London 2012.