French President Emmanuel Macron officially opened the Paralympic Games on Wednesday with a dazzling ceremony at the Champs-Elysees and Place de la Concorde, marking the first time a Paralympic opening ceremony was held outside a stadium. The event, bathed in the warm glow of a summer evening, was attended by enthusiastic spectators and volunteers, with around 15,000 law enforcement officers ensuring security.
Tony Estanguet, president of Paris 2024, welcomed the athletes with a symbolic message: “Dear athletes, welcome to the country of love and revolution. Tonight, there will be no Storming of the Bastille, no guillotine. Tonight, the most beautiful revolution begins – the paralympic revolution,” he proclaimed, referring to it as a “sweet revolution” set to profoundly transform society.
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The ceremony commenced at the base of the Place de la Concorde’s obelisk with a piano performance by Canadian musician Chilly Gonzales. It featured artists with disabilities starting a countdown, followed by French singer Christine and the Queens performing a pop rendition of Edith Piaf’s “Je ne regrette rien”. Directed by Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman, the show, titled “Paradox, from discord to concord”, included 500 artists and was attended by over 50,000 people.
The parade of athletes, involving 168 delegations, began at the Champs-Elysees and was celebrated with cheers and dancing from volunteers. As the French delegation concluded the parade, Yann Tiersen’s “Amelie” theme played, and the illuminated Eiffel Tower provided a breathtaking backdrop.
The Olympic opening ceremony held last month faced rainy weather along the Seine but was well-received despite some controversy over a display parodying da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”. At the Paralympic ceremony, Briton John McFall carried the flag. McFall, a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, is also notable for being the first person with a physical disability cleared for future missions by the European Space Agency.
The Paralympic cauldron was relit near the Louvre Museum by five French Paralympic athletes, including Alexis Hanquinquant and Nantenin Keita. The night concluded with a spectacular fireworks display and another performance by Christine and the Queens, covering Patrick Hernandez’s 1978 hit “Born to Be Alive”, with Serge Gainsbourg’s “Je t’aime moi non plus” echoing through Place de la Concorde.
