PARIS: The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will be held in the heart of the city, with the athletes in the spotlight on the Champs Elysées and Place de la Concorde, the organizers announced on Thursday.
It will be the first time the Paralympic Opening Ceremony has taken place outside a stadium, and it will be attended by 65,000 people.
“From the Champs Elysées to Place de la Concorde, I can’t wait to imagine the show that will transform the heart of Paris into an unprecedented artistic festival, with performances never seen before”, Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the ceremony , said.
“A show that will highlight Paralympic athletes and the values they embody. A show that will unite spectators and viewers from around the world around the unique spirit of the Paralympic Games.”
The opening ceremony of the Olympics will also be held outside the main stadium, with athletes parading on boats on the Seine in an event that could be attended by 600,000 people, organizers announced earlier this year.
Four stages of artistic animations will be installed on the Place de la Concorde.
The cost of the operation has not yet been revealed, but Thierry Reboul, the creative director of Paris 2024, said the figures would be known after the next budget meeting on December 12.
In a city that struggles to make public transport accessible to all, the organizers have pledged to work “in close collaboration with the International Paralympic Committee, the CPSF (French Paralympic Committee) and the competent authorities (to) ensure that the universal accessibility is built into all aspects of the ceremony so that athletes, participants and spectators can truly benefit from their experience.”
The opening ceremony will take place on August 28, 2024.