After the Olympic Games… Paris prepares for the 2024 Paralympic Games
Heba Press / Sports Section
After the Olympic Games, Paris is preparing to host the Paralympic Games, which will begin on August 28 with an opening ceremony that will see 180 delegations parade from the Avenue des Champs-Élysées to the Place de la Concorde, in the heart of the French capital.
Within twelve days, 4,400 athletes will compete in 22 sports spread across 18 sites, according to reports in the daily newspaper Le Monde, emphasizing that the symbols of “Paris 2024” will continue to decorate the streets of Paris.
The newspaper quotes Tony Estangue, president of Paris 2024, as saying: “It’s the second leg.” While Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee, said: “It will be the second part of the Olympic Games and it will be wonderful.”
Le Monde confirms that this edition of the Paralympic Games “will reach record figures with a greater number of participating countries, a greater number of locations and a greater number of tickets sold.”
As in the Olympic Games, the competitions will take place mainly in the heart of Paris and its suburbs.
The main Parisian sports areas will be filled with “Bercy” hosting wheelchair basketball, “Arena Porte de la Chapelle” hosting badminton and Paralympic lifting, and “Arena Paris Sud” hosting boccia (ball game for people with reduced mobility) and goalball (sport, Ball for the Blind) and Paralympic table tennis, according to the same source.
Le Monde explains that all the sites are designed with “inclusive” routes, specifying that the volunteers and workers at the competition sites are trained to welcome people with disabilities.
As for the Olympic Village, it will welcome athletes in a “100% inclusive” place, according to the Games organizing committee. From the beginning of the project’s design, everything was built to be accessible to Paralympic athletes.
Regarding the sale of tickets for the Paralympic Games, the French daily reported that more than 1.3 million tickets had been purchased as of August 7, out of 2.8 million available, specifying that 300,000 tickets have been allocated to disabled people and their companions.
Regarding transport, the media reported that the Paris region’s public transport network will once again face significant pressure during the Paralympic Games. Acting Transport Minister Patrice Vergret confirmed that an additional two thousand employees will be added to the current workforce (19 thousand) to cope with the increase in traffic.
