Final preparations are underway for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympics on Wednesday. It will take place one month after a tumultuous Olympics opening ceremony which divided spectators at home and internationally for its provocative take on French history and culture. Like its predecessor, which unfolded on the River Seine on July 26, the Paralympics opening will break with tradition by taking place outside of a sports stadium and will also be overseen by Olympics opening and closing ceremonies artistic director Thomas Jolly .
Celebrated theatre director Jolly received death threats in the wake of the Olympics opening, following suggestions that a scene featuring drag queens was a parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, which he denied . At home, the ceremony was mainly applauded and it kicked off one of the most successful summer Olympics in more than a decade. Entitled ‘Paradox’, the two-part 2024 Paralympics inauguration will see 4,400 Paralympians from 168 delegations parade down the iconic Champs-Elysées Avenue in front of 15,000 spectators, who have secured a free place.
This will be followed by a three-hour show in the temporary 30,000-capacity arena in La Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris, which hosted the BMX freestyle, breaking, skateboard and basketball 3×3 contests during the Olympics, with the only remaining tickets priced at $780 (€700). Jolly and his team are promising a show that puts the spotlight on the Paralympics spiri.