The 2024 Paralympics opened in Paris in a colourful and hope-filled ceremony, starting 11 days of competition in a city still riding the wave of the successful Olympics. On Wednesday evening (local time), French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open during a ceremony in the Place de la Concorde in central Paris — the first time a Paralympic opening ceremony has taken place away from the main stadium. Athletes from 168 delegations paraded into the arena as the sun set, with host nation France entering last to a standing ovation from 30,000 spectators packed into the stands around the historical square.
In one of the highlights of the ceremony, French singer Lucky Love, who was born with one arm, performed a moving rendition of his song My Ability surrounded by both dancers with disability and without. Source: AAP / Abdullah Firas/ABACA/PA Artists with disabilities and impairments screamed a countdown and French singer Christine and the Queens delivered a pop rendition of Edith Piaf's Je ne regrette rien. Source: AAP / Belga/Virginie Lefour/Sipa USA "Dear athletes, welcome to the country of love and revolution.
Rest assured, tonight, no Storming of the Bastille, no guillotine, because tonight the most beautiful revolution starts — the Paralympic revolution," Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet said in his speech. "It's a sweet revolution that will change all of us deeply." International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons told the athletes and spectato.