Under sea and over land, Paris Paralympics flame is lit before beginning an exceptional journey (2024)

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  • BARBARA SURK Associated Press
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  • ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Paralympic flame was lit on Saturday in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London, widely considered the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. Two weeks after French star swimmer Léon Marchand extinguished the Olympic flame to close the Paris Olympics, the spotlight is now on its Par…

Two weeks after French star swimmer Léon Marchand extinguished the Olympic flame to close the Paris Olympics, the spotlight is now on its Paralympic counterpart.

Under sea and over land, Paris Paralympics flame is lit before beginning an exceptional journey (1)

British Paralympians Helene Raynsford and Gregor Ewan on Saturday lit the flame in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London widely considered the birthplace of the Paralympic Games.

The flame will now travel to France under the English Channel for a four-day relay from Atlantic Ocean shores to Mediterranean beaches, from mountains in the Pyrenees to the Alps.

Its journey will end in Paris on Wednesday during the Paralympics opening ceremony — with the lighting of a unique Olympic cauldron attached to a hot-air balloon that will fly over the French capital every evening during 11 days of competition.

The flame is lit

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The lighting ceremony of the Paralympic Heritage Flame was held in Buckinghamshire, where the Stoke Mandeville Games were first held in 1948 for a small group of wheelchair athletes who had sustained spinal injuries during World War II.

The man behind the idea was Ludwig Guttmann, a Jewish neurosurgeon who fled Nazi Germany and worked at Britain’s Stoke Mandeville hospital. At the time, suffering a spinal injury was considered a death sentence, and patients were discouraged from moving. Guttmann made the patients sit up and work muscles, and hit upon competition as a way to keep them motivated.

Under sea and over land, Paris Paralympics flame is lit before beginning an exceptional journey (2)

“I don’t know about you guys, but I can feel his presence here today, no doubt about it,” said Andrew Parsons, the president of the International Paralympic Committee at Saturday's lighting ceremony, referring to Guttmann.

The President of the Paris 2024 organizing committee Tony Estanguet said that two weeks after closing the Olympics, the French capital was “proud and excited” to host the 17th edition, the first ever for France.

We are "ready to make it unique and memorable for France and the whole world,” Estanguet said.

The Stoke Mandeville Games later grew into the first Paralympic Games, which took place in Rome in 1960. The Heritage Flame ceremony in Stoke Mandeville was first held ahead of the London Paralympics in 2012.

Crossing the Channel

The flame will cross the sea on Sunday like its Olympic twin did when it arrived in France from Greece in May — but this time via the Channel Tunnel to mark the start of the Paralympic relay.

A group of 24 British athletes will embark on the underwater journey through the 30-mile tunnel. Midway through, they will hand over the flame to 24 French athletes who will bring it ashore in Calais. It will be used to light 12 torches, symbolizing 11 days of competition and the opening ceremony.

4 days, 1,000 torchbearers and 50 cities

Once on French soil, the flame’s 12 offshoots will head in different directions to kick off the Paris Olympics’ encore and aim to rekindle enthusiasm for the Games.

Among 1,000 torchbearers will be former Paralympians, young para athletes, volunteers from Paralympic federations, innovators of advanced technological support, people who dedicate their lives to others with impairments and people who work in the nonprofit sector to support caregivers.

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They will take the flame to 50 cities across the country to highlight communities that are committed to promoting inclusion in sport and building awareness of living with disabilities.

An exceptional flame will be lit in Paris on Sunday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the French capital from Nazi Germany occupation during World War II.

Highlighting infrastructure, innovation

The relay will highlight places that are committed to developing para sports, as well as places where famous Paralympians grew up, such as Lorient, home of double Paralympic sailing gold medalist Damien Seguin. It will also stop in Blois, which has a sports complex named after its Paralympic track athlete Marie-Amélie Le Fur who has nine medals, including two golds from Rio.

The relay will go through Châlons-en-Champagne, which has the only gymnasium in France designed to facilitate access to sport for people with intellectual disabilities. And Rouen, Chartres, and Troyes, which offer a range of disciplines, from sledge hockey to para tennis, para triathlon, adapted baseball and para climbing.

The flame will stop in Chambly, which, with its three sports facilities adapted for para sports, has served as a training camp location alongside Deauville and Antibes.

Meet the star of the Games: the cauldron

On Wednesday, the 12 flames will become one again when the relay ends in central Paris after visiting historical sites along the city's famed boulevards and plazas before lightening the cauldron during the three-hour opening show.

The cauldron is the first in Olympic history to light up without the use of fossil fuels. It uses water and electric light and is attached to a balloon. It made a stunning first flight at the Olympics opening ceremony.

Each day of the Paralympics, the cauldron will fly nearly 200 feet above the Tuileries gardens from sunset until 2 a.m.

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Under sea and over land, Paris Paralympics flame is lit before beginning an exceptional journey (2024)

FAQs

What is the meaning of Paralympics? ›

: a series of international contests for athletes with disabilities that are associated with and held following the summer and winter Olympic Games.

What is the slogan of the Paralympic Games in Paris 2024? ›

Games Wide Open

Where in Paris are the Paralympics? ›

Para athletics will be held at Stade de France, Bercy Arena will host wheelchair basketball and the Eiffel Tower Stadium will convert from a beach volleyball court to a blind football field. Other French landmarks on the list of venues include the Château de Versailles, Les Invalides and the Grand Palais.

Does the Paralympics have an opening ceremony? ›

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games have opened in spectacular style with a unique opening ceremony, held for the first time outside a stadium, on the Place de la Concorde.

What is Paralympic answer? ›

Paralympic Games, major international sports competition for athletes with disabilities. Comparable to the Olympic Games, the Paralympics are split into Winter Games and Summer Games, which alternately occur every two years.

What does the symbol of Paralympics mean? ›

The symbol also reflects the Paralympic Motto, “Spirit in Motion,” representing the strong will of every Paralympian. The Paralympic Symbol emphasizes the fact that Paralympic athletes constantly inspire and excite the world with their performances: always moving forward and never giving up.

What is the current Paralympic motto? ›

"Spirit in Motion" is the current motto for the Paralympic movement.

What is the Paris 2024 slogan? ›

The Iconic Posters are the dream representation of a stadium city, echoing the Paris 2024 slogan "Games wide open" and referring to the concept of the Paris Games: bringing sport to the heart of the city.

What do the three symbols represent in the Paris 2024 Olympics? ›

The logo for Paris 2024 combines three separate symbols – the gold medal, the flame and Marianne, the personification of the French Republic.

How long do the Olympics last in 2024? ›

How long are the 2024 Olympics on for? The 2024 Olympics will run from Friday, July 26 through Sunday, August 11, totaling over two weeks' worth of competition.

Will the Paris Olympics still be in 2024? ›

The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in France, with several events started from 24 July.

How long do the Paralympics last? ›

Although the Tokyo Paralympic Games took place over 12 competition days, the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will take place over just 11 for a more densely packed programme of exciting events.

Do the Paralympics have a flame? ›

Unlike the Olympic flame, several Paralympic flames shined alongside one another, reflecting the unique features of the Paralympic movement. When it arrived on the French coast in Calais, the flame that was ignited in Stoke Mandeville was split into 12 separate flames that journeyed to light up the whole of France.

What happens in the ceremony event of Paralympics? ›

The ceremony typically starts with the hoisting of the host country's flag and a performance of its national anthem. Unlike the Olympic Games, immediately after the national anthem the athletes parade into the stadium grouped by nation.

Can you compete Paralympics? ›

Any athlete wishing to participate in Para sport competition must have an Underlying Health Condition that leads to a permanent Eligible Impairment. The Paralympic Movement offers sporting opportunities for athletes with an impairment belonging to one of ten Eligible Impairment types.

What is the difference between the Olympics and Paralympics? ›

The Paralympics focus more on physical disabilities. The Olympics and Paralympics are about elite competition and specialization, and the athletes compete in Olympic and Paralympic Games only once every four years in their sport.

What disabilities qualify for the Paralympics? ›

Paralympic Sports By Eligible Impairments
  • Impaired Muscle Power. ...
  • Impaired Passive Range of Movement (ROM) ...
  • Limb Deficiency. ...
  • Leg Length Difference. ...
  • Short Stature. ...
  • Hypertonia. ...
  • Ataxia. ...
  • Athetosis.

What is the difference between the Special Olympics and the Paralympics? ›

Still, the main difference is Paralympics focuses on individuals with physical disabilities, while Special Olympics specifically showcases those with intellectual disabilities. Paralympics emerged due to the aftermath of World War II.

What are 3 Paralympic sports? ›

It also serves as the International Federation for nine sports (Paralympic athletics, Paralympic swimming, Paralympic archery, Paralympic powerlifting, Para-alpine skiing, Paralympic biathlon, Paralympic cross-country skiing, ice sledge hockey and Wheelchair DanceSport).

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