Paris 2024: Athletes captivated by Opening Ceremony
France’s first Paralympic Games opened in spectacular style and competitors relished the carnival atmosphere 29 Aug 2024
“Incredible” ... “Amazing” ... “Awesome” ... Just some of the words Paralympians used to describe the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games, which opened at the iconic Place de la Concorde on Wednesday.
Around 4,400 athletes from a record 168 delegations are taking part in the Games, competing in 22 sports. Many of them were present at the unforgettable opener in the centre of Paris.
The Athletes’ Parade was a riotous mix of music, dance and colour as the delegations travelled from the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Elysees.
French wheelchair tennis player Charlotte Fairbank said: “It’s been insane, I’m speechless.
"We left the Paralympic Village and there were 100s of police shepherding us to get here. Now we’re on one of the most specular avenues in the world, it’s so special, we’re super lucky.
“It’s amazing to be competing here. We’re playing at Roland Garros which is one of the most amazing sites in France, and I just can’t wait to get started. There’s been such an amazing vibe, and we can’t wait for our matches to start on Friday with our friends and family in the stadium with us.”
Among the 168 delegations at the Opening Ceremony were three nations competing at the Paralympic Games for the first time – Kirabati, Kosovo and Eritrea. Kirabati is made up of a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean and their Chef de Mission Fakaofo Kekeang says the Opening Ceremony marked an historic moment for his country.
“This is our first time at the Paralympics, it’s special. We're very excited, the Opening Ceremony has been awesome."
“We are very proud to travel this long trip from our country to Paris, we had two days travelling. We have one athlete Ongiou Timeon [competing in the men’s shot put F11] and my expectations for us are to try our best.”
It provided a stunning start to the Games and an event that athletes including Australian Para table tennis player Daniela di Toro will never forget.
Di Toro said: “There’s a lot of pride. This has been my family and my community for a really long time.
"We’ve got a lot of debutants and I’m excited for every single one of them, I hope they get to feel that they’ve got all the support not just from this team but all Aussies back home.
“That means everything. The Australian Paralympic team is here because Australians literally puts money into us – they buy all the tickets and stuff that allows us to be here. We’re funded by the Australian public who want to see us do well and be here with a great deal of pride. That’s part of our values – loyal, proud and fierce, that’s what we do.
“We hope everyone at home is proud of what they’re seeing, and that they’re really moved and motivated to get the most of their lives and do awesome stuff. Whether you’ve got a disability or not, we hope that it really gets people up and about.”
