Paris showcases riveting outdoor opening ceremony for Paralympics in historic first

140 artists, including 16 performers with disabilities, took center stage with the parade of athletes starting at the bottom on the iconic Champs-Élysées before heading into the famed Place de la Concorde, the largest square in the French capital.

Only a few weeks after the end of the Paris Olympics, the opening ceremony for the Paralympics kicked off in spectacular style, held outside of a stadium for the first time in history. 140 artists, including 16 performers with disabilities, took center stage with the parade of athletes starting at the bottom on the iconic Champs-Élysées before heading into the famed Place de la Concorde, the largest square in the French capital. A total of 168 delegations participated in the celebration. Musical performances included a rendition of Edith Piaf’s ‘Non, je ne regrette rien,” by French artist Christine and the Queens, a piano performance by Chilly Gonzales, and Sébastien Tellier played his hit ‘La Ritournelle.’ Following the parade, French Paralympians Sandrine Martinet – a Paralympic triple bronze medalist and champion in Para judo in Rio 2016 – and Arnaud Assoumani, Paralympic long jump F46 gold medalist in Beijing 2008, took the Paralympic Oath. A handover ceremony between Olympic and Paralympic athletes saw six-time Olympic medalist and French flag bearer in the Olympics Florent Manaudou pass the torch to Michaël Jérémiasz, Paralympic champion in wheelchair tennis in Beijing 2008 and now chef de mission for the French delegation at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.