Jackie Chan to carry torch ahead of Paralympic opening ceremony
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Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan will carry the flame on Aug 28 afternoon in the French capital just hours before the opening ceremony.
PHOTO: AFP
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PARIS – Hong Kong-born martial arts actor Jackie Chan was named on Aug 25 as one of the torchbearers in the lead-up to the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Paris.
The 70-year-old, known for his stunts and acrobatic fight scenes, will carry the flame on Aug 28 afternoon in the French capital just hours before the opening ceremony, announced the organising committee.
French actress Elsa Zylberstein and dancer-choreographer Benjamin Millepied will also take part in the torch relay.
As with the Olympic opening ceremony, the Aug 28 event will take place beyond the confines of the Stade de France, with a parade down the Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde in central Paris.
The flame, which was lit on Aug 24 in Britain’s Stoke Mandeville, the historic birthplace of the Paralympic Games, arrived in France via the Channel Tunnel on Aug 25, carried by French wheelchair fencing medallist Emmanuelle Assmann.
French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera – who was on hand to welcome the flame, alongside Mr Tony Estanguet, head of the organising committee – said: “It’s all about inscribing sport in the hearts of people with disabilities.”
The flame was due to continue its journey where it would be “multiplied” into 12 Paralympic flames, which will be carried by 1,000 torchbearers in about 50 towns, in 12 simultaneous relays.
The 12 relays will converge on Paris, where the flame will arrive on Aug 28 for the opening ceremony. AFP
