The opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games (August 28-September 8) will take place at Place de la Concorde but also at the bottom of the Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris, the organizers of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Cojop) detailed on Thursday. during a press conference. The option of the Place de la Concorde had already been announced last June.
08/28/2024 – From the lower end of the Champs-Elysées to Concorde
The most beautiful avenue in the world,
The most beautiful square in Paris,
For the Paralympics Opening Ceremony!A 1st in France, a 1st for athletes
Let’s open the Paralympic Games #Paris2024pic.twitter.com/gxLWO5nf69— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) October 20, 2022
To satisfy the request of the Paralympic movement to have a gauge at least equivalent to that of the Stade de France in ceremonial mode, that is to say at least 60,000 people, the project was amended and extended over the most famous avenue in Paris.
Credits: HANDOUT / PARIS 2024 / AFP
Up to 65,000 spectators welcomed
This ceremony, validated by the board of directors of the organizing committee on Thursday, will be able to accommodate 65,000 people: 30,000 people in paying places and 35,000 free of charge who will be able to attend the parade of delegations – 184 in total – which will also take place on the bottom of Avenue des Champs-Elysees.
Credits: HANDOUT / PARIS 2024 / AFP
It will take place on the evening of August 28, specified the president of the organizing committee. Tony Estanguet, who wants to make “the most inclusive Games possible”, with “11 days of (Paralympic) competitions which must change the world”.
Place de la Concorde, an emblematic square in Paris, will host urban sports during the Olympic Games. Its stages and stands will be used and transformed for this celebration: 4,400 athletes, and 7,000 people in total with their hosts, are expected to parade. This show, which could attract 300 million viewers, will be designed “like a music festival” using the stages installed on the square, explained Thierry Reboul, director of ceremonies. It is the director Thomas Jolly who will orchestrate all the JOP ceremonies, and in particular the unprecedented opening ceremony on the Seine for the Olympic Games.