Paris Paralympics Will Highlight and Celebrate Disability Sport

Paris Paralympics Will Highlight and Celebrate Disability Sport

The Paris Paralympics kick off today with a stunning opening ceremony in a city still basking in the success of the recent Olympics. A mix of emerging talent and experienced Paralympians will compete in several of the same venues that hosted Olympic events. 

Of the 35 Olympic venues, 18 will be used for the Paralympics, which run until September 8. Notable locations include the Grand Palais, praised for its Olympic fencing and taekwondo events, and La Defense Arena, where 141 gold-medal events in para-swimming will take place. The Stade de France will also return as the venue for track and field events.

The Games will open at Place de la Concorde, where skateboarding and other urban sports were held during the Olympics. For the first time in Paralympic history, the opening ceremony will be held away from the main stadium, similar to the Olympics, which had its ceremony on the River Seine.

The Paralympic flame, lit at Stoke Mandeville hospital in England, the birthplace of the Games, arrived in France via the Channel Tunnel. Theatre director Thomas Jolly, who also directed the Olympics opening ceremony, highlighted the symbolic significance of hosting the Paralympics ceremony in central Paris, a city whose Metro system remains largely inaccessible to wheelchair users. Jolly noted, "Placing Paralympic athletes at the heart of the city is a political statement that the city is not yet fully adapted to meet the needs of all disabled individuals."

While Paris buses are wheelchair-accessible and 1,000 specially adapted taxis have been arranged, the city still faces challenges in accessibility. Despite initial slow ticket sales, interest has surged since the Olympics, with over 1.9 million tickets now sold.

Every Paralympic Games introduces new stars, and this one is no different. Among the athletes to watch is 19-year-old American sprinter and high jumper Ezra Frech, an above-the-knee amputee, who has already garnered significant attention for his journey to Paris. British amputee sprinter Jonnie Peacock, a standout at the London 2012 Games, is also making a comeback, aiming for a medal at his fourth consecutive Paralympics. Additionally, Iranian sitting volleyball legend Morteza Mehrzad, standing 8ft 1in (2.46m), will seek to defend his gold medal.

The Paralympics, however, go beyond sports. International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons expressed his hope that the Paris Games will bring issues facing disabled people back to the forefront of global priorities. Parsons believes the Games will significantly influence how people with disabilities are viewed worldwide. He noted that discussions about disability have waned in recent years, falling behind topics like sexual and gender identity, and stressed the need to put disability back on the global agenda.

China, a dominant force in Paralympic sports, will send a strong team after topping the medals table at the Tokyo Games with 96 golds. Britain, which secured 41 golds in Tokyo, will look to build on that success. Host nation France, buoyed by its Olympic team's achievements, aims to surpass the 11 gold medals it won in 2021.

Despite the ongoing war with Russia, Ukraine will field a team of 140 athletes across 17 sports. Meanwhile, 96 athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete under a neutral banner, although they are barred from participating in the opening and closing ceremonies. Both countries' federations were suspended following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but their athletes are allowed to compete as neutrals, provided they have not shown support for the war.