The opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games will take place on Wednesday, August 28 in the heart of Paris.
The Olympic opening ceremony was the best ever for many observers, although for some it was quite the opposite, looking more like a parody than a real launch. Everyone is of course free to form their own opinion.
For the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, the ambition is the same: to slap all the ceremonies already organized. For the first time in history, it is in the open air, as for the Olympic Games, that the ceremony will take place. No Seine as the main setting this time, but the most beautiful avenue in the world with the Champs Elysées and two Places, that of the Concorde and the Etoile, not bad huh?It will be a breathtaking spectacle”assured Tony Estanguet. “It’s a ceremony that aims to challenge prejudices. The idea is to have a part with a lot of emotion, poetry and humor. But also strong messages around inclusion because in our country, disability remains the primary source of discrimination.”
The parade and the flag bearers
The one hundred and eighty-four Paralympic Games delegations will march down the avenue from the Arc de Triomphe, which features the symbol of the Paralympic Games, the Agitos. Among them, 240 French athletes are expected for this “popular parade”, led by sprinter Nantenin Keïta and triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant, the two French flag bearers. This first part of the ceremony will be open to the public free of charge.
A “protocol and artistic sequence”
The second part of the opening ceremony will be This time it will be paid and will be held on Place de la Concorde, on a 4,500 square meter stage, surrounded by four stands. Tickets, whose prices vary from 150 euros to 700 euros, are available on the official ticketing website. The team promises “performances never seen before” and a very body-oriented show. It will be a condensed “of history, with its paradoxes”a place where ““We cut off the heads of our kings” explains Thomas Jolly.
Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman at the helm
He is a legend in the industry. With over 50 creations and collaborations with the Paris Opera Ballet and the Boston Ballet, the Swede is known for his grandiose scenographies, such as when he floods the stages with 6,000 liters of water for his version of Swan Lake or its rain of green balls falling from the sky of the Opéra Garnier, in Paris as Le Figaro recalls. He speaks of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games as an event “festive and political”. Alexander Ekman also used dancers with disabilities. “They are extraordinary. They are more capable than many able-bodied people, both mentally and physically.”he told Agence France-Presse.
Clues about the artists
Who will be performing at the opening ceremony? Spoiler alert, no Lady Gaga or Celine Dion, but some stars are still announced. The team announced that it would be a “crossing our musical repertoire”. The music for the Paralympics is once again by Victor Le Masne, composer of the Olympic anthem.
The same basin
No change for the Olympic cauldron, which will be lit in the same setting as the Olympic Games. So why was it extinguished? Quite simply because the Paralympic flame does not leave Athens, but Stoke Mandeville in England, its birthplace.
Attention to traffic
During the ceremony, pedestrians and cyclists will be able to freely enter the area around the Champs-Elysées and the Place de la Concorde, but they will be subject to control. Motorized traffic will require a digital pass, reserved for residents and workers, under certain conditions. Some 15,000 members of the police force will be engaged for the opening ceremony, with a total of “35,000 spectators in the stands at Place de la Concorde – including nearly 5,000 athletes and 170 Olympic delegations – and 15,000 places open to the public at the bottom of the Champs-Élysées” according to Gérald Darmanin.