The Paralympics in Paris are making a strong start on the journey from discord to unity | Paralympic Games in Paris 2024

TThe 17th Paralympic Games began under blue skies lighting up the night as Paris made a powerful start, bringing the same energy and joy to disability sport that has characterised its historic summer so far.

Over the next 11 days, new heroes will be born, new stories told and perhaps a legacy of positive change for people with disabilities created. But before 35,000 spectators in the Place de la Concorde, a ceremony held together by bold, expressive dancing and featuring a parade of 128 often cheering competing nations created a party atmosphere and an image of a country still “on festival“.

International Paralympic Committee Chairman Andrew Parsons called for a “revolution of inclusion” in his speech and Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet praised the fans: “the public completion of the“, French President Emmanuel Macron had only the space to perform a very brief ceremonial function and declare the Games open, while elsewhere the energy of the night raged.

Unlike the Olympic opening ceremony, there were no images of soaked artists to spoil the party. With temperatures of 30 degrees and cloudless skies, everything went smoothly and the stands were full. When the French delegation arrived at the arena after 10 p.m. to the sounds of the Champs-Élysées and various other chansons that remain etched in the collective memory, the spirit of summer 2024 was back in full swing.

There were 500 performers, including dancers, pop stars, furry revolutionary hats and the ever-present DJ. The ceremony was titled “Paradox,” and the theme was a journey from Discord to Concord. Like every aspect of Paris 2024, this idea was tied to the geography and history of the French capital.

The ceremony began in “wide-open” style, in full public view, with the Paralympic delegations walking down a section of the sun-drenched Champs-Élysées and a group of Unesco leaders, rappers and Jackie Chan joining them as part of the torch relay. What Parisians describe as “the world’s largest avenue” is traditionally where France salutes its hero (with a parade for the stars of the Olympics in September). But the Élysées was not a feature at this summer’s Games, and has been reserved for the Paralympics, where it will also feature as part of the marathon on the final day of competition.

From the open streets, the ceremony moved to a ticketed event on the Place de la Concorde. Once the site of the execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the Place de la Revolution was renamed in 1795, an action that, according to Thomas Jolly, creative director of Paris 2024, was intended to “appease and reconcile the French”, making the square itself a “place of paradox”.

Jolly argues that the ceremony explores another need for reconciliation: between the 15% of the world’s population who have a disability and the societies that ignore their needs. “Living together better begins with mutual consideration,” he says, “then we can better make amends, reconcile, adapt and move forward better together.”

Ironically, in the week that one of Britain’s greatest Paralympians – Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson – had to drag herself out of her wheelchair and onto a train in London on her way to the Games, Jolly said the ceremony would reinforce the argument that “disability is not a flaw in the person, but that it is the architecture, practices, attitudes, lifestyles and models of society that create the ‘situation’ of disability for these people.”

The ceremonies, divided into five acts, were directed by Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman, whom Jolly had hired to bring energy and humor to the event. This decision was immediately confirmed. In the introductory part, French swimmer and model Théo Curin, who has neither hands nor feet, assembled a taxi out of Phrages, a furry red private vehicle in which he drove to the arena to say his only sentence: “Welcome to Paris!” (He does this with flying colors).

From there, the spectacle exploded in a whirlwind of dancers and rousing music. Performances included Christine and the Queens, who performed a modernised and almost unrecognisable Je Ne Regrette Rien, and a rendition of Ravel’s Bolero so robust and powerful that it consigned all memories of Torvill and Dean to the dustbin. The performers were a mix of disabled and able-bodied, sometimes dancing in opposition (discord) but eventually coming together (harmony) in a piece called Sportography, which combined athletic movement and artistic expression with wild visual effects projected onto the obelisk in the centre of the square. The entire performance was carried by the incredible talent of South African amputee dancer Musa Motha.

After three and a half hours of spectacle and speeches, the final act was to relight the Olympic cauldron and send the bronze balloon into the Paris night sky. Ekman says: “I often find that words are worthless and that images or the situations they illustrate are much more valuable.” On a night like this, it was hard to disagree with him.