Paralympics
The Paris Paralympics start today with an exciting opening ceremony in the heart of the city, following the successful Olympic Games. Athletes, both new and experienced, will compete in 18 of the 35 Olympic venues, including the Grand Palais and Stade de France.
It will be opened with a ceremony at the Place de la Concorde a bold move to hold a Paralympic opening ceremony away from the main stadium for the first time. The Paralympic flame, lit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, the birthplace of the Games, has arrived in France through the Channel Tunnel.
As theatre director Thomas Jolly explains, placing Paralympians right in central Paris “highlights just how inaccessible it is for people with wheelchairs”. Despite this, Paris has taken some steps toward accessibility with accessible buses and 1,000 adapted taxis.
Ticket sales have risen to over 1.9 million. Among the ones to follow are US Ezra Frech, sprinter/high jumper, and British sprinter Jonnie Peacock. The sitting volleyball star of Iran, Morteza Mehrzad, will compete for gold.
The Games try to put the issue of disability into international consciousness, with International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons hoping this will be an edition to put matters back onto the agenda of disabled peoples’ issues. China, a powerhouse, will be joined by strong delegations from Ukraine and the hosting nation, France. Russian and Belarusian athletes enter the competition under neutral flags due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
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Jawad Shah