The parade of 4,400 athletes on the Champs-Elysée and towards the Place de la Concorde in Paris officially kicks off the 2024 Paralympic Games, which will continue until Sunday, September 8. An “inclusive” and “spectacular” opening ceremony: as artistic director Thomas Jolly defined it. For Italy, represented by 141 athletes (70 women and 71 men), the flag bearers Ambra Sabatini (gold at Tokyo 2020 in the 100 meters of athletics in the T63 category) and Luca Mazzone (triple gold champion in cycling between Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 after the two silver medals in swimming at Sydney 2000) opened the parade. The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, applauded the Italian athletes standing. Alongside Mattarella, Sports Minister Andrea Abodi also stood up and applauded. The announcement of the Italian team at the Concorde sparked general enthusiasm among the audience.
Artists' clothes
One challenge facing organizers of the opening ceremony was to create clothing for disabled performers that would not detract from the pomp and excitement that kicked off the recently concluded Olympics on July 26. To give shape and color to the event’s clothing — titled “Paradoxe,” choreography by Sweden’s Alexander Ekman, music by Victor Le Masne — artistic director Thomas Jolly recruited French designer Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, who had fun creating about 700 costumes. “The whole show is a deconstruction of the blue-white-red with the insertion of silver and gold to recall the medals,” says the 30-year-old designer of the workshop set up specifically in Saint-Denis, north of Paris.
Tickets sold
To date, “about two million tickets have been sold,” announced the president of the organizing committee Tony Estanguet. There are 500,000 left, which will continue to be available during the races and until the end. Two hundred thousand places have been reserved for schoolchildren. “It will be incredible, the city will surround the athletes, as if to embrace them,” added the artistic director. And if a month ago the show was spoiled by rain, this time the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella will find beautiful sunshine and mild temperatures to welcome him.
All eyes are on the Italian athletes
Italian athletes will compete from tomorrow, Thursday 29 August, in 17 disciplines (out of 23): athletics, badminton, canoeing, rowing, cycling, horse riding, judo, swimming, fencing, sitting volleyball, weightlifting, taekwondo, wheelchair tennis, table tennis, shooting, archery, triathlon. The Italian delegation, the largest ever, with 51 debutants, will try to beat the record for medals won, aware that “Tokyo was the greatest result of all time”, as IPC President Luca Pancalli pointed out. The bar is set at 69 medals – 14 gold, 29 silver and 26 bronze – a result obtained at the Paralympic Games held three years ago in Japan, 39 of which came from swimming, a discipline that historically represents a reservoir of success for Italy.
Cover photo: Twitter
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