Paris 2024 Paralympics Opening Ceremony highlights: XVII Paralympic Games declared open after stunning performances

A spectacular opening ceremony comes top a close. 

From tomorrow it will be competition time. Stay tuned for all the Live updates. 

Firework ends the show, on to the Para Games now. 

Christine and the Queens come back for one more time to celebrate the occasion. 

They perform a rendition of legendary Patrick Hernandez song, “Born to be Alive” as performers flood the stage with colour, turning the ground into a giant canvas. 

Italian Wheelchair fencer is now receives the Flame on stage. 

She passes it to American multi-sports paralympic athlete Oksana Masters.

Masters gives the flame to Markus Rehm, a German para-athlete, he runs out with the flame and arrives at the Jardin des Tuileries. There, in the heart of the National Estate of the Louvre and Tuileries, the relay goes on until the lighting of the Cauldron. It flies away and lights up the Paris sky. And the German gives it to French para-athlete Assia El Hannouni.

She hands it to Christian Lachaud, who the passes it to Béatrice Hess, Alexis Hanquinquant, Nantenin Keïta, respectively as the flame reaches the Louvre.

Charles-Antoine Kouakou, Fabien Lamirault and Elodie Lorandi join forces with Alexis Hanquinquant and Nantenin Keïta. 

All five athletes light the cauldron together.

Florent Manaudou, the French flagbearer at the Paris 2024 Olympics, runs from the Champs Elysées to bring the Flame at the Place de la Concorde.

Manaudou gives it to former Wheelchair tennis player Michael Jeremiasz, as he arrives in front of the obelisk.

The sequence starts with a video of the highlights of the Torch Relay, which began on 24 August in Stoke Mandeville. 

After its journey across France over several days, the Paralympic Flame enters the Place de la Concorde.

Two Paralympic athletes, a judge and a coach take the Paralympic Oath on behalf of their peers and pledge to respect and promote the Paralympic values: determination, equality, inspiration and courage.

The Paralympic Anthem is titled “Anthem of the Future”. It was composed by Frenchman Thierry Darnis in 1996 at the request of the IPC.

The Paralympic flag is brought on stage by John McFall, Beijing 2008 Paralympian, silver medalist in Para Athletics and Paralympian and first astronaut with a disability to have joined the European Space Agency. It is then raised while the Paralympic Anthem is performed by Luan Pommier.

It’s tough to determine if we’re witnessing a dance performance, a sports event, or an art work in this elaborately choreographed presentation. 

The performance includes the two main groups we’ve seen before. In this new setting, they collaborate, fusing dance, sport, and art into a fictitious game that emphasises teamwork, in which people with and without disabilities invent new sports in which everyone can participate.

President Emmanuel Macron says: “I declare the Games of the XVII Paralympiad open!”

Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee speaks.

“The para-athletes are here to far more than just compete, they are here for equality and recognition,” he says. 

“Paris 2024 will start the ‘inclusion revolution’” he adds. 

President of the organising committee Tony Estanguet gives a passionate speech. 

“The 4,400 para-athletes here in Paris, you inspire us, the crowd will cheer you with passion,” he says. 

The French fag is being raised on the tunes of the French national anthem, , “The Marseillaise”, reinterpreted by Victor le Masne, composer and musical director of the Paris 2024 ceremonies, and performed by Ensemble Matheus.

A video is shown on the big screens with montage of iconic moments from the past 16 Paralympic Games.

Lucky Love sings “My Ability”. The dancers of the “Strict Society” walk around the stage, observing these creative stars.

225 athletes will represent USA at the Paris Paralympics 2024.

​

The French delegation makes its way across the arena, while the song Les Champs-Elysées sung by American-French singer Joe Dassin is played in the background.

The largest Refugee Paralympic delegation in history is parading. 

Greece delegation parades with the Greek and French flags. What a sight!!!!

Here comes the Indian contingent.

India’s flag-bearers at the Paris Paralympics 2024 opening ceremony- Sumit Antil and Bhagyashree Yadav along with the Indian contingent joins the party. 

Bangladesh is back ay Paralympics after 16 years. The last time it participated in Paralympic Games was in Beijing 2008. 

The Brazilian delegation shines bright at the Place de la Concorde. 

The para-athletes enter the La Concorde arena, having paraded from the bottom of the Champs-Élysées to the beats of French DJ Myd’s beats. 

Afghanistan starts the parade at the Place de la Concorde to kick-off the 168 delegations’ flagbearers in a French alphabetical order.

The flag-bearers are here. The 168 delegations are starting to parade at the Place de la Concorde.

A lot of ‘Phryges’ - The mascots of the Paris Paralympics Games take over the stage. 

Christine and the Queens performs a new version of legendary French singer Édith Piaf’s iconig song “Non, je ne regrette rien”.

A big pyrotechnic show with the blue, white and red colours is put after the countdown is over. 

Théo Curin arrives at the Place de la Concorde with his taxi. The French para-swimmer is welcomed by a host of performers. 

Canadian pianist opens the cultural party alongside 140 dancers and performers for the big countdown and the start of the artistic show.

With Edith Piaf’s song resonating, Frenchman Théo Curin becomes taxi driver to welcome some French athletes who will be competing during the Paralympic Games. 

The golden hour in the ‘city of love’, the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games starts now at the Place de la Concorde!!!

Paris and France will host their first-ever Paralympic Summer Games. For the first time in history, the opening ceremony will be held outside the confines of a stadium. 

On 28 August 2024 at 11:30 PM IST, Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées will be the stage for celebration in the heart of Paris.

Sumit Antil and Bhagyashree Yadav will be India’s flag-bearers at the Paris Paralympics 2024 opening ceremony.

The Paris 2024 Paralympics opening ceremony will be telecast live on Sports18 network. The live streaming of the same will also be available on JioCinema.

The Paris Paralympics 2024 opening ceremony will start at 11:30 PM IST (8 PM local time) on Wednesday, August 28.

Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the Paris Paralympics 2024 Opening Ceremony. Stay tuned for live updates and news from the event which is set to begin at the iconic Champs-Elysées.