The golden hour in the ‘city of love’: the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games took place on August 28
For the first time in history, the opening ceremony was held outside the confines of a stadium, at the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysees
French President Emmanuel Macron and IPC president Andrew Parson were in attendance for the Opening Ceremony of the 17th Para Games
With Edith Piaf’s song resonating, Frenchman Théo Curin becomes taxi driver to welcome some of the competing French athletes
Heloise Adelaide Letissier, French singer and songwriter, performed with dancers to open the cultural party for the start of the artistic show
A big pyrotechnic show with the blue, white and red colours was seen after the countdown was over
The Patrouille acrobatique de France performed a flyby whilst releasing smoke in the colours of the French flag to welcome the Paralympic delegations
The mascots joined on the stage to announce the arrival of the delegations and welcome the athletes
The French DJ Myd began his DJ set as the athletes entered the La Concorde arena, having paraded from the bottom of the Champs-Élysées
Afghanistan started the parade at the Place de la Concorde to kick-off the 168 delegations’ flagbearers in a French alphabetical order
The Greek contingent was seen with their national flag and the French flag, signifying their strong ties
India’s flag-bearers at the Paris Paralympics 2024 opening ceremony- Sumit Antil and Bhagyashree Yadav along with the Indian contingent joined the party
In focus: A detailed view of a fan taking a picture of athletes participating in the colourful parade
The largest Refugee Paralympic delegation of the history arrived and there was a lot of noise to welcome them
Host France was the final delegation to make its way out at the Opening Ceremony, ready to take on the Paralympic challenge
French singer Luc Bruyere, known as Lucky Love, sang “My Ability” with performers around him on the stage
The Obelisque de Louxor (Luxor Obelisk) was illuminated at the Place de la Concorde
The national flag of France was raised to the sound of “The Marseillaise” reinterpreted by Victor le Masne, and performed by Ensemble Matheus
Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, and Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, addressed the crowd
I declare the Games open!: From the official stand, President Emmanuel Macron, declared the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games open
The “Sportography” performance was a celebration of diversity and shared creativity, illustrating how diverse groups can unite to achieve a common goal
Following the performances were the Paralympics anthem, oath and the hoisting of the flag
Many torchbearers carried the Paralympic Flame - in the heart of the National Estate of the Louvre and Tuileries, the relay went on until the lighting of the Cauldron
Five French Paralympians - Charles-Antoine Kouakou, Fabien Lamirault and Elodie Lorandi, Alexis Hanquinquant and Nantenin Keïta - lit the cauldron together
Fireworks to end the show! On to thePara Games now!