As the Olympics comes to a star-studded close, attention turns to the 16th Paralympic Games where more than 4,000 athletes are expected to represent over 150 countries across 22 sports in Paris.
While the French capital has hosted the Olympic Games three times, including 2024, this is the first time France will host the Paralympics.
Many of the Olympic venues, including the Château de Versailles gardens and the Stade de France, will be re-used to host the upcoming events.
When do the Paralympics start?
The opening ceremony will take place on Wednesday, August 28, with the first sport beginning the following day.
The Paralympics will run for 11 days and finish on September 8.
Timings will be similar to the Olympics, with early starts and competitions taking place throughout the day.
Are tickets still available?
Tickets are still available to buy via the official website. Tickets include day-long Discovery Passes for €24 (£20.50), allowing you to attend several sessions in a day.
While a record 9.7 million out of 10 million tickets were sold to Olympic audiences at Paris 2024, only 1.3 million of an available 2.8 million tickets have been sold for the Paralympics. Organisers hope the success of the Olympics will encourage further ticket sales over the coming weeks.
What to expect at the opening ceremony
Much like the Olympics, the opening ceremony for the Paralympics will not take place in a stadium. Instead, Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées will be the stage for the celebration in the heart of Paris.
The ceremony will be led by Thomas Jolly, Artistic Director for the Ceremonies.
He said: “While the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony will be the first of its kind, I look forward to creating a spectacle that will showcase the Paralympic athletes and the values that they embody.”
An expected 65,000 spectators will be able to attend the Opening Ceremony.
Who are the Team GB stars to look out for?
Team GB will take around 220 Paralympians to Paris and will once again have high hopes to be one of the top nations in the competition.
Here are some of the British athletes to look out for this year.
Hollie Arnold – Para athletics
Hollie Arnold made her Paralympic debut at the age of 14 – the youngest member of Britain’s Paralympics team.
At Rio 2016 Arnold became Paralympic champion for javelin, breaking the world record. After losing her Paralympic title in Tokyo, the Welsh thrower will be looking to add to her gold and bronze Paralympic medals later this summer.
Matt Bush – Taekwondo
Matt Bush first made his name as a javelin and shot put athlete, before switching to taekwondo in 2017 when it was added to the 2020 Tokyo roster.
The heavy-weight athlete became Britain’s first ever male Para taekwondo athlete to win World Championship gold in 2019.
Ellie Challis – Para swimming
Ellie was the youngest member of Paralympics GB in Tokyo where she won a silver medal in the S3 50m backstroke at the age of 17.
She has since secured her first world title in Madeira and multiple gold and silver medals – most recently at the Manchester World Championships. The now 20-year old will be going into the Paris games hoping to add to her collection.
Hannah Cockroft – Para athletics
The Yorkshire-born wheelchair racer has claimed every major title.
She has been unbeaten at the Paralympic Games ever since improving her tally to seven titles with a triple run in Rio and another golden double in Tokyo. After 16 world titles, hopes are high for Hannah to bring home the gold as she competes in the T34 classification in her fourth Paralympic games.
Rachel Choong – Para Badminton
Rachel Choong is one of the UK’s most successful badminton players; she is currently ranked world number one and is England’s most highly decorated badminton player. She has 10 World Championship titles and 10 European Championship titles.
After missing out on a chance to compete in Tokyo as her category was not selected, this will be her first Paralympics. She will be hoping to take home her first Paralympic medal in Paris competing in the SH6 women’s single’s and alongside fellow Paralympian Jack Shephard in the mixed doubles.
David Smith – Boccia
David Smith has been winning medals for Great Britain since the Beijing games back in 2008.
Smith continued his dominance, achieving a “grand slam” of titles, putting him at the top in the BC1 individual category. This year he will compete individually and in the Team event.
Thomas Young – Para athletics
Thomas Young burst onto the scene in 2018 with double T38 gold in 100m and 200m events at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin.
Success continued at Tokyo 2020 where Young claimed T38 100m gold on his Games debut in 10.94 seconds. Earlier this year in preparation for the games, the Croydon-born sprinter beat his PB with a 10.93 second time, improving on his Tokyo winning time by 0.01 seconds.Funmi Oduwaiye – Para athletics
Just two years after taking up shot put and discus, Funmi Oduwaiye will be making her debut in the Paris Paralympics.
Oduwaiye initially wanted to be a basketball player, however after a routine surgery went wrong, disability sport opened a new door.
The Cardiff-born athlete has already had a successful career so far. She placed fourth in the shot put and sixth in discus at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships.
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