Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

What you need to know about the Paralympics opening ceremony in Paris

The opening ceremony for the Paris Paralympic Games will take place on Wednesday evening, with a giant parade open to the public, plus festivities, performances and more. Here is what you need to know.

Published: 27 August 2024 12:55 CEST
Updated: 28 August 2024 16:55 CEST
What you need to know about the Paralympics opening ceremony in Paris
This handout illustration released on October 20, 2022 by Paris 2024 Olympic Committee shows the Paris Paralympics opening ceremony on August 28, 2024 which will take place on Place de la Concorde, in Paris. (Photo by Handout / Paris 2024 / AFP)

The Paralympic Games, or Jeux Paralympiques in French, will kick off in Paris on Wednesday, August 28th with the opening ceremony at 8pm.

Before that, the torch will make its way from the town of Stoke Mandeville in the UK, which is where the original idea of the Paralympics began.

READ MORE: MAP: Where will the Paralympic torch visit in France?

Like the Olympics, the opening ceremony will take place in the city centre, not in a stadium.

This time it will not be on the river, but athletes and delegations will parade from the Arc de Triomphe, down the Avenue Champs-Elysées.

The first portion of the event will be open to the public and it will involve more than 180 delegations and 4,400 paralympians from around the world. There will also be several giant screens visible.

Then, the parade will arrive at the Place de la Concorde, the largest square in Paris and the site of urban Olympic events just a few weeks ago. This will be the scene of the official parade for ticket holders, with four stages for artistic sequences.

READ MORE: Two key Paris landmarks for Paralympics opening ceremony

As for the number of spectators, over 50,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony in total, at least 15,000 in the areas open to the public along the Avenue, and another 35,000 in the ticketed seats at the Place de la Concorde. 

Thomas Jolly – who also directed the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies – is once again in charge, so expect surprises.

He has named the opening ceremony ‘Paradoxe’, and it will feature ‘all different bodies’, according to Ouest France, and figures like Jackie Chan, comedian Jarry and choreographer Benjamin Millepied are expected to take part.

How can I attend the opening ceremony?

If you are a ticket holder, you will be able to access the Place de la Concorde (from Rue Royale) from 5pm.

For those without tickets, you can still attend the opening ceremony. The free zones will allow you to see the portion of the parade going from Place Clemenceau onward, and the giant screens will broadcast the portion at Place de la Concorde.

Free areas for non-ticket holders will also open at 5pm.

You will be able to enter the public parade area along the Champs-Elysées either from Avenue Matignon, or from the Seine via Pont Alexandre III and Pont de la Concorde. For more precise information, consult the map on the Paris city hall website.

The Champs-Elysées area will have space for up to 6,000 people, while the Seine area will accommodate up to 9,000. 

Security checks will be carried out at the gates – here is the list of prohibited items.

READ MORE: What you need to know about the Paris Paralympics

Where and when will the cauldron be lit?

The popular hot air balloon – or Olympic torch – will make a comeback for the Paralympic Games. It will be lit at the Jardin des Tuileries at the end of the opening ceremony, like during the Olympic Games.

You can see the torch being lit during the opening ceremony without advance registration, though you will want to arrive early. There will be standing-room space for 3,000 people by the Louvre, according to Le Parisien.

You can also watch from the other side of the river at the Quai Anatole France to see the hot-air balloon (cauldron) lit and floating into the sky.

READ MORE: How to visit the Olympic cauldron in Paris during the Paralympics

After the opening ceremony, it will remain accessible to the public from August 29th to September 7th, taking off each day at sunset. In order to visit it, you will need to reserve a (free) ticket in advance. 

The site will be open every day from 10am to 7pm, and you will need to show a single-use QR code to enter. Be sure to check the weather forecast before planning your visit. 

Tickets can be booked online here – but be warned, they go fast and slots can sell out in less than 24 hours. New booking slots will be added each day.

What about QR codes and transport restrictions?

Expect several nearby Metro stations to be closed. As for driving, the area around the ceremony will be in a ‘red’ security zone, and as you would expect, the avenue and nearby roads will be closed off.

It may be worthwhile to avoid driving in central Paris on Wednesday and Wednesday evening, if possible.

If you do need to drive, then you should check to see if the address with ‘Anticiper les Jeux’ to see if it will be in a ‘red’ zone where you would need a QR code to enter.

As for pedestrians, the space around the ceremony will largely be open, aside from the ticketed area.

READ MORE: How to check for Paris Paralympics disruption in your area

How can I watch the ceremony from home?

The ceremony will start at 8pm and will be screened on free-to-air channel France 2, as well as Eurosport 1. It is expected to end by 11.15pm.

It will be screened around the world by national broadcasters, although not necessarily the same broadcasters – for example in the UK the BBC screened the Olympics while Channel 4 will screen the Paralympics.

You can find the list of TV channels across the world who will show Paralympics coverage HERE, and you can check out the official Paralympics Youtube channel HERE.

READ MORE: How to watch the Paris Paralympic Games on TV in France

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

France bids final farewell to Olympics with Champs-Elysees parade

France bid a final and reluctant farewell to the Paris Olympics on Saturday with a parade on the Champs-Elysees followed by a concert featuring artists from the opening and closing ceremonies.

Published: 15 September 2024 09:40 CEST
France bids final farewell to Olympics with Champs-Elysees parade

The final event of an acclaimed summer of sport saw tens of thousands of fans gather on the French capital’s most famous avenue to applaud and cheer the nation’s new sporting heroes.

Around 70,000 people gathered for the parade featuring athletes, volunteers and public sector workers, which was followed by a multi-artist concert on a spectacular stage around the Arc de Triomphe.

“Saying thanks, not just to the athletes but to everyone who made these games magic, I think it’s fabulous,” said France’s most-decorated track athlete, Marie-Jose Perec, who lit the cauldron at the start of the Games on July 26.

“It’s a beautiful way of saying goodbye because everything must come to an end and tonight it will all be over,” the visibly emotional 200m and 400m triple gold medallist told reporters as she arrived.

Around 4,000 police were called out for a final test, having won almost almost unanimous praise for the way they kept around 12 million ticket holders for the Olympics and Paralympics safe.

After months of gloom and self-doubt in the run-up to the start of the Olympics, Parisians and the country at large threw themselves into the spirit of the Games once the sport began.

They embraced new champions such as triple gold medal-winning swimmer Leon Marchand while finding fresh reasons to celebrate veterans such as judoka Teddy Riner who won his fourth Olympic title.

“Thank you, thank you, it’s been incredible!” Riner shouted to the cheering crowd.

He, Marchand and Rugby Sevens star Antoine Dupont were among more than 100 French medal winners who were awarded the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest civilian award, in a ceremony at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe led by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The French team finished the Olympics with a record medals haul of 64, including 16 golds, securing fifth place on the international table.

The Paralympic Games from August 28-September 8 were hailed as “the most spectacular ever” by the head of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons.

Escapism

Analysts say the Games served as a form of escapism for many French people worried about the direction of the country as well as generating a rare form of national union and pride.

“Everything worked, everything functioned and French people rediscovered the virtues of national cohesion,” the head of the French Olympic Committee, David Lappartient, told reporters.

Macron is seeking to take advantage of this more positive mood, having faced widespread criticism for his decision to call snap parliamentary elections in June which blindsided Paris 2024 organisers.

The vote resulted in a hung parliament and historic gains for the far-right National Rally party.

Instead of making a speech, he recorded a poetic voiceover over images of the Olympics and Paralympics, saying it was “a summer that had already become part of French sporting legend.”

The 46-year-old was the main instigator of Saturday’s event, which was not originally part of the Olympic or Paralympic programme.

The centrist has also announced his intention to create an Olympics-inspired “national day of sport” every year on September 14.

“We need to spend time together at a day of sport, which would take place in the street, schools, in dedicated sports centres,” he told the Parisien.

Saturday night’s concert featured singer Chris, formerly of Christine & the Queens, who performed at the Paralympics opening ceremony, as well as blind Malian duo Amadou & Mariam among others.

SHOW COMMENTS