the emotion of the spectators who attended the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games

On Wednesday evening, the opening ceremony attracted thousands of people curious to see the cauldron ignite or to watch the athletes parade on the Champs-Élysées.

The opening ceremony of the Paris Paralympic Games was a great popular success on Wednesday, August 28. Thousands of people attended, from the parade of athletes on the Champs-Élysées to the relighting of the Olympic cauldron in the Tuileries Gardens. On the Champs-Élysées, Babette, with the French flag on her shoulders, missed nothing of the parade of delegations. “It was beautiful, enthuses this Parisian woman, interviewed by franceinfo. We were saying that we were incredibly lucky to have seen this show for free. It was magnificent, a great atmosphere. And congratulations to the athletes.”

These athletes then took their places in the stands, Place de la Concorde, with the highlight being the arrival of the Paralympic flame a few hundred meters away. It was far from the 30,000 people expected, but there were still a few thousand from the Tuileries Gardens to witness the relighting of the hot air balloon cauldron up close.

“There, I had the opportunity. So clearly, I said to myself that I had to go for it. I didn’t want to miss it again, says Florian, future sports teacher. If you are in Paris during the Olympics but you don’t see the cauldron, you are almost missing something essential.”

In the audience, Alain and Sarah worked during the Olympic Games and had not seen the cauldron ignite the first time either. “To see the same excitement for the Paralympic Games today was incredible, they rejoice. We are really very moved. It’s magnificent in the Paris sky: the Eiffel Tower on the left with the buildings, on the right blue, white, red and the cauldron that lights up. It will set the tempo for these Paralympic Games. And we can’t wait to follow our French athletes.”

Guillaume was in Paris for work. And since his company supports Paralympic table tennis player Léa Ferney, it was important for him to see the cauldron come back to life. “I think it’s great to celebrate the start of these Games, he testifies. I think the show showed this solidarity, this fraternity that we can have in these Games.”

“It’s also a beautiful message because we don’t talk enough about disability, we don’t talk enough about inclusion.”

Guillaume, spectator

to franceinfo

Paralympic athletes now expect the support of the public to perform in their discipline. This is exactly what Ennio intends to do, delighted to be there on Wednesday evening, even if it was not really in his programme. “It’s pure coincidence, but we think it’s important to give strength to athletes with disabilities,” he says. A valuable support to accompany French athletes towards a harvest of medals.