The Olympic flame has arrived in Paris, final preparations for the opening ceremony are underway, and the Paris 2024 Paralympics are in the starting blocks.
The Games will be held in Paris just under two weeks after the conclusion of the Paris 2024 Olympics. These are the first Summer Paralympic Games to be held in France. The Games will be held mainly in the same venues that hosted the Olympic Games, but other venues will be adapted for the Paralympics. For example, the Eiffel Tower Stadium, which hosted beach volleyball at the Olympics, is being converted into a facility to host blind football at the Paralympics.
Here’s what you need to know about the Paris 2024 Paralympics:
When do the Paris 2024 Paralympics start?
The Paris 2024 Paralympics will start with the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday 28 August and run until Sunday 8 September.
The Opening Ceremony will take place along the Champs-Élysées in Paris and end at the Place de la Concorde. Paralympic athletes will parade along the streets. It will be the first time in Paralympic history that an Opening Ceremony will take place outside a stadium.
What you need to know about the Paris 2024 Paralympics
The Games will feature approximately 4,400 athletes from around the world. They will compete for 549 medals in 22 different sports. Many of the competitions will take place in the same venues where athletes competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. For example, wheelchair basketball will be held at the Bercy Arena, which will be the venue for the men’s and women’s basketball competitions during the Paris Olympics.
The medals will also be similar to those awarded at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and will include an original piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower. They are also designed to be tactile and identifiable, with engravings and Braille.
This is the first time that the Summer Paralympic Games will be held in France, and the event is already bringing about positive changes in accessibility. The City of Paris is making adjustments to make land transport more accessible.
What sports will be held at the Paris 2024 Paralympics?
- Para Archery
- Para Athletics
- Para Badminton
- Blind Football (soccer)
- Boccia
- Para Canoe
- Para Cycling
- Para Equestrian
- Goalball
- Para Judo
- Para Powerlifting
- Para Rowing
- Shooting Para Sport
- Sitting Volleyball
- Para Swimming
- Para Table Tennis
- Para Taekwondo
- Para Triathlon
- Wheelchair Basketball
- Wheelchair Fencing
- Wheelchair Rugby
- Wheelchair Tennis
How to watch the Paris 2024 Paralympics
The Paris 2024 Paralympics will be broadcast on all NBC networks, with many events on USA Network and CNBC.
The Paralympics will also be streamed on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, the official Paralympics YouTube channel and the International Paralympic Committee website.