Paralympics 2024
The 2024 Summer Paralympics (French: Jeux paralympiques d’été de 2024), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, and branded as Paris 2024, is the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international multi-sport parasports event governed by the International Paralympic Committee, being held in Paris, France, from 28 August to 8 September 2024. These games mark the first time Paris is hosting the Summer Paralympics and the second time that France is hosting the Paralympic Games, as Tignes and Albertville jointly hosted the 1992 Winter Paralympics. France also hosted the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Bidding process
Main article: Bids for the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics
As part of a formal agreement between the International Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee first established in 2001, the winner of the bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics must also host the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
Due to concerns over a number of cities withdrawing in the bid process of the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2024 Summer Olympics, a process to award the 2024 and 2028 Games simultaneously to the final two cities in the running to host the 2024 Summer Olympics – Los Angeles and Paris – was approved at an Extraordinary IOC Session on 11 July 2017 in Lausanne. Paris was understood to be the preferred host for the 2024 Games. On 31 July 2017, the IOC announced Los Angeles as the sole candidate for the 2028 Games, opening Paris up to be confirmed as host for the 2024 Games. Both decisions were ratified at the 131st IOC Session on 13 September 2017.
In February 2018, it was reported that the IOC and organizing committee had discussed moving the Olympics and Paralympics ahead by one week from their original scheduling, so that the Paralympics would fall within the school holiday period.
Development and preparations
Venues
All the Paralympic events will be held in and around Paris, including the suburbs of Saint-Denis and Versailles, and Vaires-sur-Marne which is just outside the city environs.[10]
Grand Paris zone
Venue Events Capacity Status
Stade de France Closing Ceremony 77,083 Existing
Athletics (Track and Field)
Paris La Défense Arena Swimming 15,220
Porte de La Chapelle Arena Badminton 6,700 Additional
Powerlifting 7,000
Clichy-sous-Bois Cycling (Road) – Temporary
North Paris Arena Sitting volleyball 6,000 Existing
Parc Georges Valbon – La Courneuve Para-marathon (start) – Temporary
Paris Centre zone
Venue Events Capacity Status
Bercy Arena Wheelchair Basketball 15,000 Existing
Grand Palais Éphémère Judo 8,356
Wheelchair Rugby
Eiffel Tower Stadium (Champ de Mars) Football 5-a-side 12,860 Temporary
Les Invalides Archery, Para marathon (finish) 8,000
Grand Palais Taekwondo 6,500 Existing
Wheelchair Fencing
Pont Alexandre III Triathlon 1,000 Temporary
Stade Roland Garros Wheelchair Tennis 12,000 Existing
South Paris Arena Boccia 9,000
Table tennis 6,650
Goalball 7,300
Versailles zone
Venue Events Capacity Status
Gardens of the Palace of Versailles Para equestrian (Dressage) 80,000
(22,000 + 58,000) Temporary
Outlying venues
Venue Events Capacity Status
Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, (Île de loisirs de Vaires-Torcy [fr]) Para canoe 12,000 Existing
Para rowing 14,000
Vélodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Cycling (Track) 5,000
National Shooting Centre (Châteauroux) Shooting 3,000
Non-competitive venues
Venue Use Capacity Status
Place de la Concorde Opening Ceremony 65,000 Temporary
Olympic Village, L’Île-Saint-Denis Paralympic Village 17,000 Additional
Parc de l’Aire des Vents, Dugny Media Village – Temporary
Le Bourget Exhibition Centre and Media Village [fr], Le Bourget International Broadcast Centre – Existing
Paris Congress Centre Main Press Centre –
Medals
The designs of the medals for the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were unveiled on 8 February 2024; as with the Olympic medals, the front of the Paralympic medals features an embedded original piece of scrap iron from the Eiffel Tower in the shape of a hexagon, engraved with the Paris 2024 emblem. The obverse contains a design of the Eiffel Tower viewed from below, inscriptions in braille (a writing system whose development has been credited to French educator and inventor Louis Braille), and line patterns that can be used to identify the medals by touch.
Volunteers
In March 2023, applications to be volunteers at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were released. By May 2023, 300,000 applications had been received. Applicants were made aware of the status of their application in late 2023, of which 45,000 were expected to be assigned a volunteering position.
Transportation
Main article: Transportation during the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
Accessibility in the transportation network for people with disabilities has been a concern; accessibility of the Paris Métro system is limited, with only one of its 16 lines being fully wheelchair-accessible—a shortcoming that has faced criticism from disability advocates and IPC president Andrew Parsons. Ahead of the Olympics and Paralympics, Paris invested €1.5 billion towards improving the accessibility of local businesses and other forms of transport, including €125 million to upgrade its bus fleet to accommodate passengers with wheelchairs, and subsidizing the purchase of wheelchair-accessible taxicabs.
Tickets
On the day of the opening ceremony, 2 million of the 2.8 million tickets available for the games were sold. Several sports reported record attendance.
Torch relay
Main article: 2024 Summer Paralympics torch relay
The torch relay began with the lighting of the Paralympic Heritage flame in Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom, on 24 August. The next day, the torch arrived in France via the Channel Tunnel, thus beginning the torch relay. The torch was split into 12 parts and visited 12 different cities across France. The relay ended with the lighting of the Paralympic cauldron on 28 August.
The Games
Opening ceremony
Main article: 2024 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony
The opening ceremony was held on 28 August 2024 at the Place de la Concorde, the first Paralympic opening ceremony to take place outside of a stadium. Directed by Thomas Jolly and with choreography by Alexander Ekman, the ceremony was themed around the human body and “history and its paradoxes”.The Parade of Nations took place on the Champs-Élysées starting at the Arc de Triomphe (where the Paralympic Agitos were erected), and ending at Place de la Concorde. The final leg culminated with multiple torchbearers coming together, who then lit the Paralympic cauldron, a ring of 40 computerised LEDs and 200 high-pressure water aerosol spray dispensers which was topped by a 30-metre-tall helium sphere resembling a hot air balloon, rising in the air, reminiscent of the Montgolfier brothers’ experiments leading to the first hot air balloon flight in 1783. Performers included French singer Christine and the Queens. Dignitaries who attended the ceremony included British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, IOC President Thomas Bach, IPC President Andrew Parsons, and French President Emmanuel Macron, who opened the games.
Sports
The programme for the 2024 Summer Paralympics was announced in January 2019, with no changes to the 22 sports from the 2020 Summer Paralympics.[28][29][30] The first draft of the event schedule was released on 8 July 2022, with 549 events in 22 sports. A record 235 medal events will be women’s events, an increase of eight over 2020; factoring these events and mixed-gender events, the number of female participants in the Paralympics is projected to be at least double of that of Sydney 2000.
The IPC considered bids for golf, karate, para dance sport, and powerchair football to be added to the Paralympic programme as new sports. Bids were also made for CP football (football 7-a-side) and sailing—the two sports that had been dropped for 2020—to be reinstated. While CP football was selected for consideration by the IPC, it was rejected due to a lack of reach in women’s participation.
In January 2021, the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) was declared non-competent by the IPC for violations of its Athlete Classification Code, and the sport was dropped from the Paris 2024 programme. On 22 September 2021, the IPC conditionally reinstated wheelchair basketball following reforms made by the IWBF, subject to compliance measures.
Archery (details)
Athletics (details)
Badminton (details)
Boccia (details)
Cycling (details)
Road
Track
Equestrian (details)
Football 5-a-side (details)
Goalball (details)
Judo (details)
Paracanoe (details)
Paratriathlon (details)
Powerlifting (details)
Rowing (details)
Shooting (details)
Sitting volleyball (details)
Swimming (details)
Table tennis (details)
Taekwondo (details)
Wheelchair basketball (details)
Wheelchair fencing (details)
Wheelchair rugby (details)
Wheelchair tennis (details)
Source:
Calendar
The International Paralympic Committee has approved the final schedule, and dates for the upcoming Summer Paralympics games were released on 2 February 2023.
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