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After an unforgettable Olympics The excitement continues in Paris as the Paralympics are just around the corner.

The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympics will take place on Wednesday 28 August, celebrating thousands of Para athletes from 184 delegations from around the world.

As with the Olympic Games, the opening ceremony of the Paralympics will not be held in a stadium, but outdoors on the Place de la Concorde, which has been transformed into an “urban park” for the Olympic Games, where skateboarding, freestyle BMX, 3×3 basketball and Break.

“From the Champs-Elysées to the Place de la Concorde, I am excited to create this spectacle that will transform the heart of Paris with performances never seen before,” says Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the ceremony.

He adds: “A spectacle that puts the Paralympic athletes and the values ​​they embody at the forefront. A spectacle that unites spectators and television viewers around the world around the unique spirit of the Paralympic Games.”

This time, Jolly has enlisted the help of Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman to shake up the ceremonial rules again. Ekman has chosen to put dance at the heart of the performance, with over 150 dancers, including professionals with disabilities.

Ekman outlined his vision for the ceremony, saying: “Our aim is to create a Paralympic ceremony that is a celebration with a mix of important messages, focusing on the art of choreographic dance and the newly composed and sport-inspired music of Victor Le Masne.”

The choreographer became famous for his production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” in Oslo in 2016, for which he recreated a lake on stage and filled it with 6,000 liters of water.

How to watch the opening ceremony

The first part of the ceremony can be followed live and free of charge by the public, while the final ceremonial and artistic part will take place on the Place de la Concorde on a 4,500 square meter stage surrounded by four rows of seats.

Ticket prices range from 150 to 700 euros and can be purchased at the official ticket counters. website.

For those outside Paris, the events will be televised. A list of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Rights holder is available. In France, for example, the opening ceremony of the Paralympics will be broadcast on the free-to-air channel France 2 on August 28th from 8 p.m.

It was reported that the legendary Chinese martial artist and actor Jackie Chan will carry the torch just hours before the opening ceremony begins.

The flame, lit on Saturday (24 August) in Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, arrived in France through the Channel Tunnel on Sunday, carried by wheelchair fencing medallist Emmanuelle Assmann.