Let the Games begin! The 2024 Paris Paralympics were officially declared open on Wednesday night. The opening ceremony was focused on the Place de la Concorde, with the first of the 549 gold medals to be awarded on Thursday. Team SA has three codes in action on the opening day of action – archery, swimming and boccia.
The city, which has just come off a successful staging of the Olympics, will play host to 4,400 Paralympic athletes from 184 delegations as they celebrate the commencement of 11 days of competition.
Para-athlete Mpumelelo Mhlongo and para-swimmer Kat Swanepoel were joint flag-bearers for South Africa as the waiting for them, and millions of observers from around the world, was finally over.
The ceremony again took place outside the confines of a stadium, with athletes parading down the famous Champs-Elysées, culminating in a celebration and official opening of the Paralympic Games at the iconic Place de la Concorde in front of thousands of spectators.
The Artistic Director for the Ceremonies at the Olympics and Paralympics, Thomas Jolly, said the spectacle “showcased the Paralympic athletes and the values that they embody.” He described the concept as “first and foremost a magnificent source of inspiration”.
As with the Olympics, South Africa jumped to near the front of the list of parading nations, behind Afghanistan, because its name in French is Afrique du Sud. They therefore slotted in ahead of Algeria, Germany, Angola, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba and Austria.
Photo: ROGER SEDRES in Paris
SOURCED FROM TEAM SA WEBSITE.
