Just weeks after hosting the Olympics, the summer of sports in Paris begins its final chapter Wednesday (Aug.28) with the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games.
More than 4,000 athletes with physical and intellectual impairments will compete in 22 sports over the next 11 days.
Three National Paralympic Committees – Eritrea, Kiribati and Kosovo – will make their Paralympic debut in the French capital.
Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco and Nigeria are among the 35 National Paralympic Committees with a record number of female athletes for these Games.
Team Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Rwanda are some of the 27 NPC with more female athletes than male athletes.
At Tokyo 2020 African athletes won a total of 63 medals, including 21 gold. Four years earlier, at Rio 2016, the total was 97 (36 gold).
Which teams should you look out for?
Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa were the most prolific teams in terms of medals at Tokyo 2020. Each left Japan with four gold medals.
What will the opening ceremony be like?
Organizers are promising a spectacular show to open the Games. Once again it’s being held outside the confines of a stadium, but unlike the rain-soaked Olympic opening ceremony, which featured a boat parade on the Seine River, the Paralympic ceremony is happening exclusively on land, with athletes parading down the famous Champs-Elysées to the ceremony at the Place de la Concorde.
Artistic director Thomas Jolly, who led the opening ceremony for the Olympics, said the event will “showcase the Paralympic athletes and the values that they embody”, and promised “performances that have never been seen before.”
Additional sources • AP – Paris 2024
