The Paralympic Games… the second largest international multi-sport event
Heba Press
The seventeenth session of the Paris Paralympic Games begins on Wednesday, August 28 and runs from August 28 to September 8.
The Paralympic Games are the second largest international multi-sport event, involving athletes with special needs, including low muscle strength such as (paraplegia or hemiplegia, tetraplegia, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome) and motor impairment resulting from disabilities in the limbs, such as amputation, short stature, muscle tightness, ataxia, poor vision and stunted growth.
The tournament features 4,400 players from most countries around the world, competing for medals in 22 official sports competitions included in the Paralympic classification, namely archery, athletics, badminton, blind football, boccia, boating, cycling, equestrian and goalball, judo, weightlifting, rowing, archery, sitting volleyball, Paralympic swimming, Paralympic table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.
This year, the opening ceremony will not take place in an Olympic stadium, but rather in the ancient streets of Paris, such as the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
According to the official website of the competition, “the procession of athletes will parade along the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées to the Place de la Concorde”, where security authorities have established a security perimeter around the opening zone, which is expected to last 3 hours.
65,000 spectators are expected to attend this historic moment, which underlines the host city’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion.
