Théo Curin, Christine and the Queens, lighting the cauldron… Find 11 unforgettable scenes from the ceremony that set Paris ablaze

After the torrential rain that hit Paris during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 26, the weather was milder on Wednesday, August 28, for the kickoff of the Paralympic Games. A total of 140 dancers, including 16 with disabilities, and 4,400 para-athletes from 182 delegations enlivened this evening orchestrated by Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the Paris Games ceremonies, Alexander Ekman, Swedish choreographer, and composer Victor Le Masne, who composed the Olympic anthem. All the athletes set off from the legendary Avenue des Champs-Elysées to reach the Place de la Concorde.

Dubbed “Paradoxe,” the three-hour-plus show was designed to be released “heroic clichés about people with disabilities, because it’s not being a hero to take on everyday challenges […] linked to societal and urban barriers”explains Thomas Jolly. And thus move from discord to concord. Arrival of the French delegation, performances by Christine and the Queens, lighting of the flame… Discover the 11 sequences to remember from the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games.

Théo Curin opens the evening aboard his taxi covered in Phryges

Mixing symbols and humor, para-swimmer Théo Curin arrives at the wheel of a red taxi entirely covered in Paralympic Phryges plush toys. A direct reference to his show “Théo Le Taxi”, broadcast on France Télévisions, in which he receives athletes in the passenger seat of his car to interview them. During this sequence, several para-athletes follow one another, such as Charles-Antoine Kouakou, gold medalist in 2021 at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in the 400 meters T20, or Nélia Barbosa, 25-year-old kayaker years old, silver medalist in Tokyo.

Pianist Chilly Gonzales sets the tone

During the opening sequence, entitled “Discord”, the authors of the ceremony want to show the paradox of our society, which continues to stigmatize people with disabilities despite its desire to include them. To do this, they stage a face-to-face with, on one side, more than 140 dancers dressed in black embodying a rigid society, resistant to change. On the other, 16 performers with disabilities symbolize openness and freedom. All this, on Countdowna piece composed by Victor Le Masne and performed by Canadian jazz pianist Chilly Gonzales.

Christine and the Queens perform “Non, je ne regrette rien” by Edith Piaf

Edith Piaf was once again in the spotlight. After the very moving Hymn to love performed by Celine Dion at the end of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, then Under the Parisian sky by Zaho de Sagazan during the closing, Christine and the Queens took over No, I don’t regret anything..

The French delegation closes the parade at Place de la Concorde

Paralympic athletes and Phryges parade on the Place de la Concorde after parading from the bottom of the Champs-Elysées, with the Afghan delegation in the lead. From the foot of the obelisk and wearing a huge tricolor flag on his shoulders, French DJ Myda remixes essential French variety songs such as That I love you by Johnny Hallyday (who set the stadiums alight during the Games), The Champs-Elysées by Joe Dassin or even Take me away by Charles Aznavour.

Disabled people talk about their daily lives

A series of touching testimonies, broadcast on giant screens. “Actually, we are no different from anyone else”says Lucie Retail, a quadruple amputee following a severe form of malaria. “I discovered a lot of things in sport”then explains Serge Bec, the first French fencer to win a title at the 1964 Paralympic Games: “I was a Paralympic champion, certainly, I don’t take pride in it but it’s still an honour.”

“When I went blind, I felt like everyone treated me differently”says Canadian influencer Molly Burke, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease that causes blindness, in a second video: “People I passed on the street would talk to my mom or dad instead of me. They would act like I was stupid or couldn’t understand and I think it’s important to at least show how normal I am.”

Lucky Love moves the Concorde

He is adored by Juliette Armanet and Béatrice Dalle, according to France 3 Hauts-de-France. The Lille singer Lucky Love, who suffers from agenesis, a rare in utero malformation that caused him to be born without a left arm, upsets the Place de la Concorde and the television viewers by performing My Abilityaccompanied by the choir and the Matheus Ensemble.

Emmanuel Macron officially declares the Paralympic Games open

“I declare the 2024 Paralympic Games open”said Emmanuel Macron, as is customary. The French president spoke after speeches by Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet and International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons.

John McFall, who dreams of being a parastronaut, carries the Paralympic flag

The Paralympic flag made its arrival on stage in the hands of a former para-athlete with an extraordinary background. John McFall, an orthopedic surgeon who won a bronze medal in the 100 metres at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, was selected to become the first disabled astronaut. The crest representing the Agitos, symbols of these Games, was raised, while the Paralympic anthem was played.

The flame arrives on “La Ritournelle” by Sébastien Tellier

After three hours of ceremony, the flame appears. It is Florent Manaudou who has the honour of initiating this final relay on The Ritournellea legendary song by French composer Sébastien Tellier. He then passes the flame to Michaël Jérémiasz, the head of mission of the French delegation, who gives it to Italian fencer Béatrice Vio, who passes it to American paracyclist Oksana Masters.

The flame previously passed through the hands of 1 000 wearers since it was lit in Stoke Mandeville, UK, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, on August 24.

Five French para-athletes light the cauldron

After Teddy Riner and Marie-José Pérec at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, five para-athletes lit the Olympic cauldron in the Tuileries Gardens as the last torchbearers. Thus, the two flag-bearers of the French delegation, Alexis Hanquinquant and Nantenin Keïta, joined the athlete Charles-Antoine Kouakou, the swimmer Elodie Lorandi and the table tennis player Fabien Lamirault in front of the cauldron. The famous balloon is once again flying in the Parisian sky, for the entire duration of these Paralympic Games.

Christine and the Queens close the evening with “Born to Be Alive”

Christine and the Queens, also known by the stage names Chris or Redcar, bring the evening to a close with the sound of the global hit Born to Be Alivewritten by French singer Patrick Hernandez in 1978. It is to this disco hit that dancers and performers set the Concorde alight in a wild ballet of wheelchairs, leaving a trail of colors and transforming the stage into a giant canvas.