First Paralympics in France open with stunning ceremony

The first-ever Paralympic Video games in France has opened within the capital of Paris, with a shocking Opening Ceremony happening outdoor for the primary time in historical past. About 4,400 athletes from world wide will compete throughout 22 sports activities, sharing the thrill of Para sport with spectators for the primary time in eight years. 

Athletes from a document 168 delegations paraded within the iconic Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysees, in entrance of hundreds of followers who cheered, clapped and waved flags when the athletes took to the stage. Athletes danced, waved on the crowd and posed for photographs as they made a lap round essentially the most stunning public sq. on this planet.

Followers and athletes grew to become one when the French delegation entered the Place de la Concorde to the music of “Champs-Elysees”. Led by flagbearers Nantenin Keita and Alexis Hanquinquant, French athletes embraced the love from the spectators, who turned on their cellphone torches to assist the hosts. 

Huge occasion in Paris

Indonesia’s Para powerlifter Nengah Widiasih was decked out in a ceremonial crown and excited to enter the ceremony.

“I need to see an incredible ceremony tonight. It is my first time going to a ceremony. It is my first expertise. Fourth Paralympics however I by no means went to the opening, often my competitors is the following day.”

One other athlete with excessive hopes for the ceremony was South Africa’s flagbearer, Mpumelelo Mhlongo. “I simply anticipate that there’s going to be a large crowd on the market welcoming the Paralympians from world wide, and a number of international locations creating vibe simply to point out France how grateful we’re that they’re internet hosting us and so they’ve created such an incredible occasion for us to showcase our expertise,” stated Mhlongo, who will compete in Para athletics.

Within the first minutes of the Opening Ceremony, French Paralympic hero Theo Curin drove a Phryge taxi – a pink automobile adorned with a whole lot of the Paralympic mascot. The Paralympic swimmer, who competed on the Rio 2016 Paralympic Video games, took French athletes on a trip, whereas talking about what it’s prefer to compete at a house Video games.

Because the countdown ended, the Paralympic swimmer yelled “Welcome to Paris” as fireworks exploded, lighting up the sky in pink, white and blue, the colors of the French flag. Eyes stored being drawn upwards, as the Patrouille acrobatique de France additionally carried out a flyby, releasing smoke matching the French flag. 

The Ceremony featured music and dance routines, setting the stage for 11 days of thrilling Paralympic competitors. It included a grand choreographed present, during which many dancers used crutches to showcase the theme of overcoming bodily variations, creating a brand new, inclusive competitors the place unity and equality succeed.

Within the ultimate efficiency of the night, Christine and the Queens took to the stage, singing to a show by dancers in wheelchairs. They had been spinning on the ground, a efficiency impressed by and paying tribute to Sue Austin, a British artist with a incapacity, who used the wheels of her wheelchair to color.

Prepared, set…

There shall be round 4,400 athletes from a document 168 delegations, together with the biggest ever Refugee Paralympic Group. Three Nationwide Paralympic Committees – Eritrea, Kiribati and Kosovo – will make their Paralympic debut within the French capital. There shall be a document variety of feminine athletes.

Athletes had been welcomed by hundreds of spectators – and 15 Phryge mascots that danced, jumped round, and even learn newspapers on the stage. With a good looking sundown and the Eiffel Tower additionally within the background, athletes celebrated the opening of the Video games. 

“I’m very excited. It’s my first time. Can’t wait. I watched the Olympic Ceremony and it was so cool. There may be a lot to do and every thing is so superb, I’m so completely happy to be right here,” stated Finland’s Lida Lounela, who will make her Paralympic debut in Paris. 

There was an enormous roar from crowd when the Refugee Paralympic Group entered the Place de la Harmony. Led by flagbearer Guillaume Junior Atangana, the RPT will function eight athletes who will compete throughout six sports activities – Para athletics, Para powerlifting, Para desk tennis, Para taekwondo, Para triathlon and wheelchair fencing.    

With a DJ taking part in digital music, the Place de la Concorde was a dance flooring or what even appeared like a giant trend present. Athletes from many international locations, together with Indonesia, Ghana, and the Solomon Islands, wore conventional costumes to showcase their cultures.  

Henry Kwaku Nyanteh Lorbi, Ghana’s chef de mission, defined the thought behind having a conventional costume on the Opening Ceremony. 

“Our uniform is conventional, hand woven, we now have totally different colors and totally different designs expressing a narrative. Each one you see is a special material which has a special story, exhibiting we’re utilizing our particular person variations and bringing them collectively.” 

Tahiru Haruna, who will signify Ghana in Para powerlifting, stated, “I need to see the flags of all of the world, Africa, Asia, I need to see everybody smiling. This unites everyone collectively. That is sports activities. That is why it is referred to as Paralympic – we transfer collectively, we love ourselves.” 

A household affair

South Africa’s Mhlongo stated, “I believe it’s every thing (to have a crowd). We all know from covid that our sport is nothing with out having a neighborhood so with out the gang we additionally don’t exist. You don’t get the performances out of the athletes. It’s a symbiotic relationship.”

“Fortunate quantity three. I’ve all the time been in blended classed occasions, so all the time had the Paralympic document and world document however all the time ended up fifth, so that is the primary yr we now have our personal 100m in our class so simply seeking to showcase the T44 class and the way a lot expertise we now have there.”

It was additionally a household second for Mhlongo. His spouse Monique Atouguia , who was carrying the colors of the South African flag, cheered as she watched her husband carry the flag at his third Paralympics, together with her brother and her mom. Her husband’s household shall be arriving tomorrow to finish the household celebrations.

“I am so excited, so emotional. That is his third Paralympics and he is retiring, so it is a massive deal. It is a massive one (with him carrying the flag), and naturally it is stunning to have a second to have fun the athletes with out them having even competed, that is superb,” Monique Atouguia instructed the IPC on the Opening Ceremony.

“It is unity, it is variety, it is the ability of what we are able to obtain collectively. All of that, it is a evening to have fun,” she stated. 

 

The inclusion revolution begins right here 

The Opening Ceremony, directed by Thomas Jolly, put incapacity and the enjoyment of life at centre stage. A black and white movie after the Parade of Nations adopted people on their journeys of reflection, from the preliminary difficulties of accepting variations to discovering confidence. As folks opened up about their emotions, the gang reacted and clapped. 

“Right here on the Paris 2024 Paralympic Video games, we are going to have fun what makes us totally different, present there may be energy in distinction, magnificence in distinction, and that distinction serves as a strong power for good,” Worldwide Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons stated in his speech. 

“The Paris 2024 Paralympic Video games will present what individuals with disabilities can obtain on the highest stage when the boundaries to succeed are eliminated.   

“The actual fact these alternatives largely exist solely in sport within the yr 2024 is surprising. It’s proof we are able to and should do extra to advance incapacity inclusion – whether or not on the sphere of play, within the classroom, live performance corridor or within the boardroom.  

“That’s the reason 225 years on from when Place de la Concorde was central to the French Revolution, I hope Paris 2024 begins a Paralympic revolution, the inclusion revolution.” 

The cauldron is lit

The Opening Ceremony got here to an in depth with the lighting of the cauldron by 5 ultimate torchbearers, French Paralympians Alexis Hanquiquant, Nantenin Keita, Charles-Antoine Kouakou, Fabien Lamirault and Elodie Lorandi. 

Made to appear to be a scorching air balloon, the cauldron then rose into the sky above the Metropolis of Mild for a blinding finale.