Overnight, Paris hosted the 2024 Paralympic Opening Ceremony, and to say it was a showstopper is an understatement. Like the Olympics in late July, the Paralympic ceremony stepped outside the traditional stadium format and showed the world why Paris is called the ‘city of lights’.
With the Eiffel Tower glittering in the background (still bearing the Olympic Rings), athletes from around the world made their way from the Arc de Triomphe (which is lit up to show the Paralympic logo), down the iconic Champs-Elysées, and onto the Place de la Concorde. It was a spectacle in the middle of the city that befits the incredible competition that will take place over the next 11 days.
It’s a landmark Paralympic Games this year, with it being the first ever held in Paris. More importantly, though, pay equity for Australian Paralympians has been achieved for this Games (it’s about time!), with Paralympians now paid the same as their Olympic counterparts. The Opening Ceremony was a befitting celebration, and ahead, catch up on all the moments everyone was talking about this morning.
The Aussies Enter The Competition
Watching the athletes’ parade down the Champs-Elysées was enough to give us goosebumps, but of course, the Aussie contingent making its way towards the Place de la Concorde is what really excited us.
The 160 Australian athletes were led by flag bearers, six-time Paralympic medallist and wheelchair racer Madison de Rozaio and seven-time medallist and swimmer Brenden Hall. There are 61 Aussies making their debut at the Paralympics in Paris and we will be cheering them on every step of the way.
A Beautiful Revolution Starts
Athletes from 168 delegates arrived at the Paris Paralympics on a gorgeous summer evening. With the sun setting in the background (that pink sky must surely be a good omen for the weather during the Games), Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet offered a warm welcome.
“Dear athletes, welcome to the country of love and revolution. Rest assured, tonight, no Storming of the Bastille, no guillotine, because tonight the most beautiful revolution starts — the Paralympic revolution,” he said in a speech.
It was a night of moving speeches. “We are here, in the world’s most beautiful city, at one of the most critical times in our recent history. At a time of growing global conflict, increasing hate, and rising exclusion, let sport be the social glue that brings us together,” said Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee. He went on:
“Paralympic athletes are not here to participate, no, sir. They are not playing games. They are here to compete, win and smash world records!
“But Paralympians are also here to achieve something far greater than personal glory. They want equality and inclusion for themselves and for the world’s 1.3 billion persons with disabilities. Through their performances, Paralympic athletes will challenge stigma, alter attitudes and redefine the limits of what you think is possible.”
The Games were officially opened by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The City of Lights
The City of Lights lived up to its name, with the boulevard lighting up the procession of athletes throughout the ceremony. Fireworks boomed through the night as the Eiffel Tower shimmered in all her glory in the background.
Showstopping Performances
The opening ceremony set the stage for incredible performers, including more than 140 dancers and 16 performers with disabilities, to captivatw the 50,000-strong crowd. One standout was Musa Motha, a South African Dancer and former contestant on Britain’s Got Talent.
“Across five artistic ‘tableaux,’ the ceremony shared a strong and poetic message about inclusion and the place of people with disabilities in society,” reads a statement on the official Paris Paralympic website. The performers’ costumes were designed by young French designer Louis Gabriel Nouchi, while Victor le Masne provided the music, and Thomas Dechandon the lighting.
Lighting the Cauldron
The lighting of the cauldron is always a moving ritual, with greats from Paralympics both the past and present often participating in the final pass-offs. As the flame was transferred through the Place de la Concorde, three Paralympic legends passed the flame to one another: Assia El Hannouni, France’s most successful female athlete with eight gold medals; Christian Lachaud, France’s most successful male athlete with 10 gold medals; and Beatrice Hess, who has won a total of 26 Paralympic medals for Para-swimming.
Beatrice then handed off the flame in the Jardin de Tuileries to five current French Paralympic athletes: French flagbearers, Alexis Hanquinquant and Nantenin Keïta, plus Charles-Antoine Kouakou, Elodie Lorandi, Fabien Lamorault.
Together, they lit the hot air balloon-like cauldron. The cauldron rising into the air marked the official beginning of the competition and the completion of the opening ceremony.
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
