The opening ceremony of “Inclusion” will take place at the foot of the Champs-Elysées

Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Élysées and 4,400 Paralympians: the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony will take place at the base of the legendary Parisian Stadium on August 28 at 8 pm (6 pm GMT). “tolerate” wait “Spectacular”According to the organizers.

Place de la Concorde as a theatre

In front of 65,000 spectators in the stands of the Place de la Concorde in central Paris, the three-hour ceremony envisioned by Paris Olympic artistic director Thomas Jolly will kick off the first Summer Paralympics in France. As on July 26, it will take place outside the Olympic Stadium. Four stages will be installed in the Place de la Concorde. The team promises “A performance like never before” And a very physical performance. This will be a summary “History and its paradoxes”a place “We cut off our king’s head”and it has arrived “The most beautiful (boulevard) in the world, we celebrated our “Blues” in 1998, and we gathered here on New Year’s Day”he explained.

Who is choreographer Alexander Ekman?

The ceremony’s chief choreographer, Alexander Ekman, is world-renowned and has created more than 50 productions with the Paris Opera Ballet and the Boston Ballet. He is known for his magnificent set designs, for example in his version he filled the stage with 6,000 litres of water. Swan Lake Or his rain of green balls falling from the sky at the Opera Garnier in Paris (“Play”).

Alexander Ekman confirmed to AFP in July that the ceremony will be a major event “Festivals and politics”according to Thomas Joly’s wishes. He says the dance carries a strong message about inclusion. For the first time, the choreographer is working with dancers with disabilities. “They are extraordinary. They are more capable than many able-bodied people, both mentally and physically,” he assures.

VIP

4,400 disabled athletes from 182 delegations will march from the Arc de Triomphe. Of these, 240 French athletes are expected to take part in this popular parade, led by the two tricolor flag bearers, Nantenin Keita and Alexis Hanquinquant.

The name of the main guest artist has not been revealed at this stage, but the team has announced that it will be “Spanning our musical repertoire”The music is once again by Victor Le Masne, composer of the Olympic Anthem, and the costumes are supervised by Daphné Bürki. The Olympic flame will once again be lit and soar into the Paris sky, as it does every evening during the two weeks of Olympic competition. The Closing Ceremony will take place at the Stade de France on Sunday, September 8, just like at the Olympic Games.

Accessibility

Audio description, special shuttles… No specific details of the barrier-free facilities planned for the inauguration have yet to be revealed. However, the ticket office offers specific seats for people with disabilities (especially wheelchair users or accompanying persons), the prices of which vary on the Internet from 150 to 700 euros.

About 15,000 police officers will take part in the opening ceremony, with a total of 15,000 police officers “There are 35,000 spectators in the stands of the Place de la Concorde, including nearly 5,000 athletes and 170 Olympic delegations, and 15,000 seats open to the public at the bottom of the Champs-Elysées”According to Gérald Darmanin.

The minister spoke of internal security and anti-terrorist perimeters around the Place de la Concorde and the Tuileries Gardens, details of which will be announced later.

Ticketing: More than 1.75 million tickets sold

More than 1.75 million Paralympic tickets have been sold, organizers announced yesterday, a week before the Games begin. “We are pleased with the energy that has been created” Michaël Aloïsio, deputy director general of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, assured at a press conference that especially since the start of the Olympic Games at the end of July, sales have reached 700,000 since the start of the Olympic Games. The organizers did not give a target for the total sales of tickets for the Games. There are still about 800,000 available for purchase, starting at 15 euros. Nearly ten venues are almost full, with an attendance rate of more than 90%, especially “Iconic Site”Mr. D’Aloisio pointed out that Versailles is suitable for disabled horseback riding, the Grand Palais is suitable for disabled fencing and disabled taekwondo, and even the foot of the Eiffel Tower is suitable for blind football.

Para athletics is the main sport of the Games, with more than 500,000 tickets sold. The audience is expected to be mainly French (92%) and families, but the two weeks between the competitions are the start of the school year. In total, about 4,400 athletes will take part in the events, which will be held from August 28 to September 8.

Olympic Village: First athletes arrived yesterday

According to organizers, hundreds of athletes have been taking up residence in the athletes’ village since yesterday, which officially opened a week before the Paralympics in northern Paris. Fresh from the Olympics, the village has been renovated to accommodate athletes taking part in the Paralympics, which will be held in Paris from August 28 to September 8. “We will have around 500 to 1,000 visitors a day, with a peak on the first day,” site director Laurent Michaud told AFP during a visit reserved for the media.

The village, which covers more than 52 hectares and straddles Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen and the Island of Saint-Denis, will be able to accommodate up to 9,000 people during the Games. In addition to the 4,400 athletes, administrative staff, assistants, guardians, doctors and physiotherapists will also live there.

The site does not require any special rearrangement between matches, as it is “Scheduled for the Paralympic Games”According to its directors. “All roads, footpaths and entrances and exits are fully accessible to people with reduced mobility.”designated by Laurent Michaud. Paralympic athletes from around 180 countries will live in the village, including most of the 237 athletes in the French delegation.