The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games officially begin on Wednesday, August 28, with the opening ceremony, just weeks after the conclusion of the Olympic Games in the City of Light.
Over 4,000 athletes with physical, visual, and intellectual disabilities will compete in 22 sports over the next 11 days.
Unlike the Olympic opening ceremony, which featured a boat parade along the Seine River, the Paralympics will showcase a procession of athletes down the Champs-Élysées, culminating in a ceremony at the Place de la Concorde.
Thomas Jolly, the artistic director who also led the Olympic ceremony, stated that the event “will highlight the Paralympic athletes and the values they embody” and promised “unprecedented performances.”
Organizers have reported that more than two million tickets for the events have been sold. The first medals will be awarded on Thursday in taekwondo, table tennis, and track cycling. Athletes are categorized according to their level of disability to ensure fairness. Only two sports in the program, goalball and boccia, do not have Olympic equivalents.
Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee, noted that the expected crowds in Paris will mean a lot to the athletes, many of whom competed in front of empty stands three years ago in Tokyo due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For those in the United States, the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will be broadcast on USA Network and streamed on Peacock and NBC Olympics platforms on Wednesday, August 28, starting at 12 p.m. Dallas time, with the ceremony beginning at 1 p.m.
Online viewers can access the event via Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, NBC app, and NBC Sports app.
Schedules and programming can be checked on the NBC Olympics website. A special on the opening and the games will air on NBC in prime time on Friday, August 31, at 8:00 p.m. Dallas time.