Paris 2024: Paralympic torch brings magic to Paris in run-up to Opening Ceremony

The fourth and final stage of the Paralympic Torch Relay—sponsored by Coca-Cola, Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne—whipped up a memorable celebration in the heart of Paris on Wednesday, 28 August. Twelve Paralympic torches criss-crossed the French capital following three thrilling stages that brought 500,000 spectators out into the streets. The route, designed together with the City of Paris and the Police Prefecture, shined a light on each district of Paris. Nearly 200 relay runners took turns carrying the torches around the city to the beat of the numerous performances and activities organised by the City of Paris. A team relay featuring 24 Paralympians with the backing of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee lit up the forecourt of Paris City Hall. This symbolic segment preceded the lighting of the last cauldron of the Paralympic Torch Relay, with the Opening Ceremony just a few hours away. Join us for a recap of this emotion-packed day, which brought down the curtain on an extraordinary adventure that saw 1,200 torchbearers bring the light of the Paralympic flame to more than 50 towns and cities across metropolitan France.

Paris is living a celebration

A dozen torches had the entire French capital moving to the beat of the Paralympic Torch Relay! The first one was ignited in front of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF) headquarters, from where it set out for the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance (INSEP) and Esplanade Saint-Louis. The rapper Georgio extracted the torch from its bespoke Louis Vuitton case in Place de la Nation. Next, the torch blazed past Place de la Nation, Place de la République and Place de la Bastille on its way to City Hall, where the last cauldron of the Paris 2024 Torch Relay was lit.

Meanwhile, the heart of the Goutte d'Or neighbourhood (17^th district), Canal Saint-Martin and the La Grange-aux-Belles neighbourhood (10^th district), a hotspot of Parisian hip hop back in the 1980s, glimmered in the light of the torch in the northern reaches of the French capital. Further east, the torch swung by the legendary La Cipale velodrome (12^th district) and Père Lachaise Cemetery (20^th district). The torch had a few brushes with history in the 12^th and 13^th districts, where it illuminated the Passerelle Simone-de-Beauvoir, the esplanade of the Bibliothèque François Mitterrand —which hosted a Sufi dance performance— and the Arenas of Lutetia. After touching grass in Parc Montsouris (14^th district), which set the scene for a freestyle football performance by Crew S3, it paid tribute to the age-old expertise of textile workers at the Manufacture des Gobelins (13^th district).

Meanwhile, other torches were exploring the south-west of the city, featuring highlights such as Piazza de l'Unesco and the Oly House, which has served as the gathering point for the Olympic family throughout the Paris 2024 Games. A short while later, one of the torches was lit in front of the Tomb of Napoleon at the Hôtel des Invalides and went out onto the esplanade, where the Para archery events will get under way tomorrow. Parc Georges Brassens and the 15^th district City Hall were also in the spotlight, as was the Cité Périchaux neighbourhood, where spectators roared in delight at a grandiose dance parade by the Les Grandes Personnes troupe.

The excitement reached fever pitch as the torch blazed through Club France, the beating heart of the French national team which will remain active during the Paralympic Games, and remained at stratospheric levels as it visited Pigalle, escorted by the Cabaret as revisited by the Mixity troupe. Further west, the torch illuminated Parc Monceau and Parc Clichy Batignolles Martin Luther-King, as well as the banks of the lower lake of the Bois de Boulogne, where the Touring Club performed a big equestrian parade. In the heart of the capital, Saint Sulpitius's Church and Place du Châtelet were also in a festive mood, with challenges and Paralympic awareness-raising initiatives.

The Paralympic and Olympic movements join forces to light the cauldron

The Paralympic torch turned onto the home straight on the forecourt of Paris City Hall. A guard of honour of 24 Paralympic medallists escorted it on the esplanade in front of City Hall. The captain of this team relay of Paralympic champions was Ludivine Munos, a retired 12-time medallist in Para swimming. Joining her were Para table tennis ace Vincent Boury, Para swimmers Alain Pichon and Rachel Ladrière, Para athlete Stéphane Bozzolo, Para judoka Angélique Quessandier and wheelchair tennis legend Florence-Alix Gravelier. Another 18 Paralympic athletes running the entire gamut of Paralympic sports also rose to the occasion.

A dozen torchbearers, representing the 12 Paralympic torches that converged on Paris, walked the final metres to the cauldron. Among them was an iconic duo consisting of an athlete and a Para athlete: Ryadh Sallem, a member of the French national wheelchair rugby team who is gearing up for his sixth Games, and Cyréna Samba-Mayela, a silver medallist in the 100 metres hurdles at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Anne-Élisabeth d'Acremont, a member of the French national wheelchair basketball team, and Mélissa Lambert, a Para swimmer specialising in breaststroke, were at their sides. Joining them were another eight torchbearers—people who step up to the plate to make the lives of people with disabilities easier, such as Pascale Gallaccio, who has chaired the Paris Departmental Adapted Sports Committee for 26 years, Vincent Lassale, who has served as a volunteer within the Paralympic movement for over three decades, and Latifa Adoudi, the president of a charity that supports the parents of children with disabilities. They came together to light the cauldron of Paris 2024 for the last time in an emotionally charged moment.

Nearly 200 torchbearers illuminate Paris

The torchbearers set the French capital alight throughout the day! Spectators caught a glimpse of athletes who went down in Paralympic history, such as Para athletes Clavel Kayitare, Miki Matheson and Marianna Davis, Para swimmers Chelsey Gotell, Duane Kale and John Petersson, and Yannick Ifebe, a gold medallist in the wheelchair fencing team event in Rio. Para surfer Suzanne Edward, swimmer Marie Grafetiaux and pentathlete Valentin Belaud were also there, as was the French cycling legend Raymond Pellé. Other people dedicated to the Paralympic movement also heeded the call, including the president of the French Disabled Sports Federation, Guislaine Westelynck, and the founder of Solidarité Sida, Luc Barruet.

Other household names were international actor Jackie Chan, dancer Benjamin Millepied, French actress Elsa Zylberstein and comedian Jarry. There were also everyday heroes with poignant and inspiring stories, such as Thibaut Simon, who designed an exoskeleton for people with tetraplegia and paraplegia, Mathias Da Silva, a young boccia practitioner who bore the French flag at the European Youth Games in 2023, and Kevin Scheifle, who works hard to improve facilities for Para athletes.

Their smiles, motivation and enthusiasm fuelled the excitement in the streets of the capital throughout the day. Together with the official sponsors of the Relay—Coca-Cola, Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne—they played their part in the run-up to the Opening Ceremony, which will take place in Place de la Concorde and on the Champs-Élysées this evening. A new chapter will begin, with sport, emotions and shared experiences until 8 September.