Paris 2024 will be turning point for Paralympics, says IPC president
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French para judoka Sandrine Martinet, a 2016 gold medallist, lighting the Paralympic cauldron in the suburbs of Paris on Aug 27.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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PARIS – The Paris Games will represent a turning point for the Paralympic movement, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons said on the eve of the opening ceremony.
More than two million tickets had been sold ahead of the Aug 28 start of the Paralympics, which will run until Sept 8.
“The Paralympic movement has become more relevant than ever,” Parsons said on Aug 27.
“But it’s also because of the ambition of the Paris 2024 organising committee. In many areas, they are innovative and we’re part of that. I think there will be a before Paris and after Paris for the Paralympic movement.”
More than a month after the opening ceremony of the Olympics
“To us, it’s like the city of Paris is giving this gigantic hug to our athletes, embracing the Paralympic movement,” added Parsons, who was elected IPC president in 2017.
“This is very special because it’s like: ‘Look, we talk about 4,400 athletes with disability, but you’re part of what we are as a city, because we are a diverse city’.
“After the Olympics and seeing what has happened here... it was incredible. People just happy and proud, and this is what we want to see during the Paralympics.”
International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons says the paralympic movement “has become more relevant than ever”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
According to the 47-year-old Brazilian, the performance of the French team, composed of 239 athletes, will have an influence on maintaining the enthusiasm seen at the end of July and the beginning of August.
“We hope France can win a couple of medals, especially in the very first days, it’s important,” Parsons said.
The IPC president did acknowledge that the Paralympic Games will take place in a different context in France to the Olympics, as negotiations for the formation of a new government have resumed and the school year starts on Sept 2.
But he still feels optimistic nonetheless.
“It’s a different context but with the Paralympic Games, we offer a little bit of a break from politics for (those who need it),” Parsons said.
“I think we will experience quite the same atmosphere.
“We have already sold around two million tickets, so that’s good. There will be full stadia.”
The best-selling events so far are blind football, taekwondo, track cycling, shooting, triathlon and equestrian.
Organisers put more tickets on sale earlier in the week for the most in-demand sports, which will take place in venues such as the Grand Palais – which proved a hit when hosting the fencing and taekwondo during the Olympics – and the grounds of the Palace of Versailles south-west of the capital.
Many of these sites have been adapted since the Olympics to make them more accessible for people with reduced mobility. REUTERS, AFP
