A show in the heart of the capital followed by 11 days of competition to, once again, convince: Paris launched its first Paralympic Games on Wednesday evening with a ceremony outside the stadium, in front of a superb panorama.
A video of French disabled swimmer Théo Curin, in a taxi decorated with “Phryge” mascots, marked the beginning of a ceremony lasting more than 3 hours, under sunny weather, before Montreal musician Chilly Gonzales took his place at the piano on a stage surrounding the Egyptian obelisk on Place de la Concorde.
A majority of the 4,400 athletes — including around 150 from the French delegation — representing 168 delegations, will begin their parade between the Champs-Élysées and the Parisian square, for a show entitled Paradox.
In the temporary stands surrounding the obelisk, France Simon and her husband, Marc, came early, arriving for the occasion from Eure-et-Loire. “It’s unique, at our age we won’t see that again,” explains this 71-year-old retiree, wearing a blue-white-and-red hat. “I saw the Olympics on television, I couldn’t get tickets, so I absolutely wanted to see the Paralympic Games. They’re the first in Paris, that’s one more reason to come,” she assures.
15,000 spectators were also expected to take their places at the bottom of the Champs-Élysées to watch the athletes’ parade for free.
A show focused on the diversity of bodies
Before the festivities began, martial arts film star Jackie Chan was among the last torchbearers, which ended its journey at the cauldron of the Hôtel de Ville. The latter was lit by twelve bearers, including Cyréna Samba-Mayela, the only French woman to have won a medal in athletics at the Olympics, and Ryadh Sallem, a star player on the wheelchair rugby team.
The organizers promised “the same ambition” as the July 26 Olympic ceremony, which was acclaimed worldwide.
This time, no parade on the Seine, but one of the most famous avenues in the world, before the show around the obelisk of the Concorde, particularly focused on “all bodies”, according to Thomas Jolly, its artistic director.
“An incredible ceremony,” said the president of the international committee, Andrew Parsons. “The first encounter of the French with the Paralympic Games,” according to the French disabled athlete Marie-Amélie Le Fur, while these Games did not yet exist when Paris hosted the Olympics at the beginning of the 20th century.
Ms Le Fur said she hoped for a show “that will put the athletes at heart”, but also a ceremony “that is militant and demonstrates that we still have developments to make regarding the place of people with disabilities”.
Choreographed by the Swede Alexander Ekman, known for his grandiose scenographies, it will feature 150 dancers, including around twenty with disabilities, for a show bearer of messages around inclusion.
In addition to the Champs-Élysées and the Concorde, the Tuileries Garden will once again be part of the decor with the lighting of the cauldron, which will be lit again since the Olympics. Who will light it? Here too, the mystery remains.
Another “step forward” to take
Although the numerous rules for classifying the events and the names of the athletes remain unknown to the general public, these Paralympic Games have generated significant interest: of the 2.5 million tickets put on sale in October, 2 million have found buyers, a dynamic reinforced by the Olympic effect.
Nearly 200,000 of them will be allocated to schoolchildren, during a period marked by the start of the school year on September 2. The political start of the school year could come and cast a shadow.
“The media context is totally different from what we experienced at the Olympic Games,” concedes Marie-Amélie Le Fur. “I hope that the good results of the French team will arrive early to occupy the space,” she continues.
Coverage of the event will be significant, with 165 television channels following the event, a record.
“We have taken a step forward since Rio [en 2016]from Tokyo [en 2021] “We have to see this as a challenge to improve ourselves further,” said Diede de Groot, the most successful Dutch wheelchair tennis player in Grand Slam history.
The first podiums will come on Thursday, in para-swimming, taekwondo, cycling and table tennis. All in most of the major venues which, there too, had participated in the success of the Olympic Games.