The2024 Summer Paralympics (French:Jeux paralympiques d'été de 2024), also known as theParis 2024 Paralympic Games (French:Jeux paralympiques d'été de Paris 2024), and branded asParis 2024, were the 17thSummer Paralympic Games, an internationalmulti-sportparasports event governed by theInternational Paralympic Committee. The Games were held inParis, France, from 28 August to 8 September 2024, and featured 549 medal events across 22 sports. These games marked the first time Paris hosted the Summer Paralympics and the second time France hosted the Paralympic Games, following the1992 Winter Paralympics inTignes andAlbertville. France also hosted the2024 Summer Olympics. The Paralympics return to its usual 4-year cycle following the2020 Summer Paralympics inTokyo,Japan postponed until 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
China topped the medal table for the sixth consecutive Paralympics, winning 94 golds and 221 total medals.Great Britain finished second for the tenth time, with 49 golds and 124 total medals. TheUnited States finished third, with 36 golds, and 105 total medals. Additionally,Mauritius,Nepal, and theRefugee Paralympic Team won their first-ever Paralympic medals. The host nation,France, finished eighth with 19 gold and 75 total medals.
Due to concerns over a number of cities withdrawing in the bid process of the2022 Winter Olympics and 2024 Summer Olympics, a process to award the 2024 and 2028 Games simultaneously to the final two cities in the running to host the 2024 Summer Olympics –Los Angeles andParis – was approved at an Extraordinary IOC Session on 11 July 2017 inLausanne.[7] Paris was understood to be the preferred host for the 2024 Games. On 31 July 2017, the IOC announced Los Angeles as the sole candidate for the 2028 Games, opening Paris up to be confirmed as host for the 2024 Games. Both decisions were ratified at the131st IOC Session on 13 September 2017.[8]
All the Paralympic events were held in and around Paris, including the suburbs ofSaint-Denis andVersailles, andVaires-sur-Marne which is just outside the city environs.[9]
The designs of medals for the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were unveiled on 8 February 2024;[10] as with the Olympic medals, the front of the Paralympic medals features an embedded original piece of scrap iron from theEiffel Tower in the shape of a hexagon, engraved with the Paris 2024 emblem. The obverse contains a design of the Eiffel Tower viewed from below, inscriptions inbraille (a writing system whose development has been credited to French educator and inventorLouis Braille), and line patterns that can be used to identify the medals by touch.[11][12]
In March 2023, applications to be volunteers at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were released.[13] By May 2023, 300,000 applications had been received.[14] Applicants were made aware of the status of their application in late 2023, of which 45,000 were expected to be assigned a volunteering position.[15]
Accessibility in the transportation network for people with disabilities was a concern during the lead-up to the Games; accessibility of theParis Métro system is limited, with only one of its 16 lines being fully wheelchair-accessible—a shortcoming that faced criticism from disability advocates and IPC presidentAndrew Parsons. Ahead of the Olympics and Paralympics, Paris invested €1.5 billion towards improving the accessibility of local businesses and other forms of transport, including €125 million to upgrade its bus fleet to accommodate passengers with wheelchairs, and subsidizing the purchase ofwheelchair-accessible taxicabs.[16][17][18]
On the day of the closing ceremony, 2.5 million of the 2.8 million tickets available for the games were sold. Suprassing London 2012 as the most tickets ever sold for a Paralympic games. Several sports reported record attendance.[19][20]
The torch relay began with the lighting of the Paralympic Heritage flame inStoke Mandeville,United Kingdom, on 24 August. The next day, the torch arrived in France via theChannel Tunnel, thus beginning the torch relay. The torch was split into 12 parts and visited 12 different cities across France. The relay ended with the lighting of the Paralympic cauldron on 28 August.[21][22][23]
The opening ceremony was held on 28 August 2024 at thePlace de la Concorde, the first Paralympic opening ceremony to take place outside of a stadium. Directed byThomas Jolly and with choreography byAlexander Ekman, the ceremony was themed around the "human body and its paradoxes".[24] TheParade of Nations took place on theChamps-Élysées starting at theArc de Triomphe (where the Paralympic Agitos were erected), and ending at provisory arena.[25]
The final leg culminated with multiple torchbearers coming together, who then lit theParalympic cauldron, a ring of 40 computerised LEDs and 200 high-pressure water aerosol spray dispensers which was topped by a 30-metre-tall helium sphere resembling a hot air balloon, rising in the air, reminiscent of theMontgolfier brothers' experiments leading to the first hot air balloon flight in 1783.[26] Performers included French singerChristine and the Queens. Dignitaries who attended the ceremony includedBritish Prime MinisterKeir Starmer,IOC PresidentThomas Bach,IPC PresidentAndrew Parsons, and French PresidentEmmanuel Macron, who opened the games.
The programme for the 2024 Summer Paralympics was announced in January 2019, with no changes to the 22 sports from the2020 Summer Paralympics.[30][31][32] The first draft of the event schedule was released on 8 July 2022, with 549 events in 22 sports. A record 235 medal events will be women's events, an increase of eight over 2020; factoring these events and mixed-gender events, the number of female participants in the Paralympics is projected to be at least double of that ofSydney 2000.[31][32]
The IPC considered bids forgolf,karate,para dance sport, andpowerchair football to be added to the Paralympic programme as new sports. Bids were also made forCP football (football 7-a-side) andsailing—the two sports that had been dropped for 2020—to be reinstated. While CP football was selected for consideration by the IPC, it was rejected due to a lack of reach in women's participation.[30]
In January 2021, theInternational Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) was declared non-competent by the IPC for violations of its Athlete Classification Code, and the sport was dropped from the Paris 2024 programme. On 22 September 2021, the IPC conditionally reinstated wheelchair basketball following reforms made by the IWBF, subject to compliance measures.[33]
The Eiffel Tower Stadium, installed on theChamp-de-Mars during the Paralympics
The emblem for the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics (a stylized rendition ofMarianne) was unveiled on 21 October 2019 at theGrand Rex. For the first time, the Paralympic Games shared the same emblem as their corresponding Olympics, with no difference or variation. Paris 2024 presidentTony Estanguet stated that the decision was intended to reflect the two events sharing a single "ambition", explaining that "in terms of legacy we believe that in this country we need to strengthen the place of sport in the daily life of the people, and whatever the age, whatever the disability or not, you have a place and a role to play in the success of Paris 2024".[45]
The official posters for these Olympics and Paralympics by Ugo Gattoni (which features a stylized Paris landscape with themed depictions of its landmarks and venues) were also designed as a single piece, split in halves representing each event.[46]
The mascots of Paris 2024,The Phryges, were unveiled on 14 November 2022. They are a pair of anthrophomorphicPhrygian caps, which have been regarded as a historical symbol of liberty and freedom in France. The Phryge representing the Paralympics wears arunning blade on one of its legs, marking the first time since1994 that a Paralympic mascot has been depicted with a visible disability.[47]
For the first time, host broadcasterOlympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) provided live telecasts for all 22 Paralympic sports—an increase from 19 in Tokyo.[48] The French national public television broadcasterFrance Télévisions acquired rights to the 2024 Summer Paralympics, airing mainly onFrance 2,France 3, andFrance.tv.[49] On 28 August 2020,Channel 4 renewed its rights to the Paralympics in the United Kingdom through 2024;[50] coverage was broadcast on Channel 4 television,streaming, and Channel 4 Sport channels onYouTube. Channel 4 notably hired actressRose Ayling-Ellis as a presenter, with the broadcaster stating that she would be the first deaf person to serve as a correspondent on a live sports broadcast.[51][52]
CBC Sports renewed itsCanadian rights to the Paralympics for 2024 and 2026, in partnership with theCanadian Paralympic Committee. Long-time CBC Sports presenterScott Russell retired from broadcasting after the conclusion of the Games; Russell had covered 16 Olympic Games and hosted six during his 40-year career.[53][54] In the United States,NBC Sports planned a major expansion of its coverage, including extending digital features from the Olympics onPeacock such as the "Gold Zone" whiparound broadcast, and multi-view, to the Paralympics.[52][55]
In the over 175 countries where broadcast rights had not been sold, the Games were streamed on YouTube via a partnership with the IPC, including event coverage, highlights andYouTube Shorts content, as well as multi-view support.[56]
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