Paralympics: Paris preparing for 'transformational' power of disability sports

For those missing the Olympics and those who missed out attending in Paris, the plea from the Paralympics leadership is: “The party is not over.”

The last two weeks have been spent recovering and reconfiguring venues in the French capital as the Paralympics looks to seize the biggest platform for the games since London 2012.

Like at the Olympics, the opening ceremony on Wednesday night will also be away from the traditional confines of the stadium but with its own feel as it is centred around different landmarks in Paris.

Thousands of athletes will parade on the Champs-Elysees before the focal point of the ceremony at Place de la Concorde.

International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons told Sky News: “We know that many Parisians leave Paris during the summer and, especially because of the Olympics they left, and they are probably watching on TV and maybe regretting that they have left because they think, ‘oh, we missed the party’.

“But the party is not over. We have the Paralympics and they will be able to experience that same feeling.”

More than 4,000 athletes will compete across 22 sports until 8 September, with blind football taking place beneath the Eiffel Tower as the city’s iconic sites are showcased again in the second part of the Paris 2024 summer.

“No one goes and experiences a Paralympic event and goes back home feeling the same about humankind, about themselves,” Mr Parsons said.

“It is really transformational – positive and exciting sport. So we believe that we will have full stadia.”

There is a push to sell tickets, especially after the Rio Paralympics couldn’t match the record crowds seen in London – while still registering the second-highest games attendance – and fans were shut out by the pandemic in Tokyo in 2021.

The benchmark is still the 2.7 million tickets sold at the 2012 Games.

“London was the number one,” Mr Parsons said.

“I think London was the games that changed and put the Paralympics in a new perspective. But from then on we have been building that, in Rio and Tokyo and the winter editions as well.

“So Paris will be a new chapter of that… another step in the path of growing the Paralympic Games.”

Britain has never topped the Paralympics medals count but has finished second at every summer games this century, apart from dipping to third at London 2012 behind China and Russia.

But these will be another games when Russia will be banned from competing under its own flag – like at the Olympics – with the punishments for state-sponsored doping followed by action over ongoing war on Ukraine.

The spectre of war looms large at the Paralympics, which were conceived after sports were used to help World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire.

And as wars have raged throughout the start of this century, the Paralympics have provided a platform for those with disabilities – even as Prince Harry’s Invictus Games have been staged for a decade.

“Whatever happens to you, if it’s being a soldier in a conflict, if you’re hit by a car, if you’re born with a disability … parasport can be an important mechanism to reinsert into society,” Mr Parsons said.

“It’s not feasible to have 1.3 billion people with disabilities on the planet become Paralympic athletes. That’s just not the reality.

“But all of them can practise some sport or some level of physical activity to some level, and this will help them to be more integrated into their communities and society.”

But the Paralympics is also challenged by issues over gender eligibility which sparked friction and abuse at the Paris Olympics.

These Paralympics will see a first openly transgender athlete competing after Italy selected sprinter Valentina Petrillo for the women’s 200 and 400m races.

Mr Parsons spoke generally about how “complicated” an area this is for sports leaders balancing often conflicting ideals of sporting fairness and inclusiveness, while creating “uncertainty” for athletes.

“We need to come and have a united position on that,” he said. “Not guided by what I think, what he thinks, what she thinks. But guided by science. Is it fair or is it not fair? What solutions can be found.”

A Paralympics is not just about transforming and inspiring individuals but spurring necessary change in a host city.

More than £1.2bn has been spent making public spaces across France more accessible ahead of the Paralympics.

All buses and trams are now wheelchair accessible in Paris but most stations on the Metro are still not fully accessible to people in wheelchairs – although there will be station assistants to help during the games.

“We do understand some concerns on the Metro, but I think what we have seen here in the last seven years… [is] an inclusion revolution,” Mr Parsons said.

“They have chosen the overground part of the transport system. There are reasons for that. The metro is, of course, very old.”

That is a long-term gap for Paris to address to help the lives of those with disabilities, with games organisers hoping the Paralympics will bring renewed impetus and urgency.

“It’s an incredible, enormous platform,” Mr Parsons said.

“What we have seen here during the Olympics – the atmosphere, the reaction of the people, the vibe in this city and in this country has been incredible.

“What we want is to channel that, of course, to the Paralympic Games and make these the most spectacular games ever … but also to remind people about what our movement stands for, which is about making this a more inclusive world through sport.”

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