Paris Hosts the First Paralympic Games Starting Today

The 17th edition of the Paralympic Games begins on Wednesday, August 28, at 8 PM local time with an opening ceremony. 65,000 people will watch the athletes parade from the Champs-Élysées to Place de la Concorde, alongside over 300 million television viewers. This edition features 4,400 Paralympic athletes from 184 countries competing over 11 days in 22 sports. Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies, promises a display that embodies the values of Paralympic athletes, describing it as a magnificent inspiration with performances never seen before. Like the Olympic opening ceremony, the Paralympic opening will take place outside a stadium, with athletes parading along the Champs-Élysées and the official opening concluding at the iconic Place de la Concorde in front of thousands of spectators. The first day of competition will feature events in para-cycling, para-swimming, para-table tennis, and para-taekwondo. The Iranian sitting volleyball team aims for a gold medal and championship title in the pre-Paralympic training camp in Tehran. The Iranian sports delegation consists of 65 athletes competing in 10 sports, including sitting volleyball, goalball, para-athletics, para-shooting, para-weightlifting, para-swimming, para-archery, para-taekwondo, para-judo, and para-canoeing. The competitions for the Iranian delegation will begin on Thursday, September 8, with para-taekwondo and conclude on Sunday, September 18, with para-weightlifting.