Summer Paralympic 2024: What You Need to Know

The 2024 Summer Paralympic Games, officially known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, are scheduled to take place from August 28 to September 8, 2024, in Paris, France. Here’s what you need to know:

• Athletes and Events: Over 4,400 athletes from around the world will compete in 549 medal events across 22 sports, showcasing both individual and team sports. This includes unique Paralympic sports like boccia and goalball, alongside adapted versions of Olympic sports such as para athletics, para swimming, and wheelchair basketball.
• Sports and Venues: The Games will feature iconic Parisian landmarks as venues. For instance, para-archery will be at Les Invalides, blind soccer at the Eiffel Tower, para-judo and wheelchair rugby at Champ-de-Mars, and para-equestrian events in the Château de Versailles park. The competition will utilize 20 venues, including the Grand Palais and Roland-Garros.
• Opening Ceremony: The opening ceremony will kick off on August 28 at Place de la Concorde, marking the start of the Games with a parade along the Seine from the Champs-Élysées.
• Historical Context: This will be the first time France hosts the Summer Paralympic Games, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Paralympic Games which began in 1948 with British World War II veterans.
• Inclusivity and Accessibility: The Games are designed to be highly inclusive, with significant efforts to improve accessibility for the expected 350,000 visitors with disabilities. This includes adaptations at venues and public transport.
• Media Coverage: For viewers, NBC in the U.S. will provide extensive coverage, streaming over 1,500 hours live on Peacock, with additional programming on USA Network. In the UK, Channel 4 has announced over 1,300 hours of coverage, showcasing the depth of the Paralympic events.
• Cultural Impact: The Paralympics aim to not only showcase sporting excellence but also to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in society, reflecting the shared ambition with the Olympics to strengthen the role of sport in daily life across all ages and abilities.
• Technological Innovations: This Paralympics will see the debut of new viewing technologies like Gold Zone and Multiview, enhancing the spectator experience by allowing viewers to switch between different events or camera angles.
• Athletes to Watch: Multi-sport athletes like Oksana Masters, Aaron Pike, and Kendall Gretsch, who have competed in both Winter and Summer Paralympics, will be among the highlights. Additionally, there’s interest in athletes like Sarah Adam, potentially the first woman from Team USA in wheelchair rugby, and swimmer Abbas Karimi, competing as a U.S. citizen for the first time.

This event not only promises to be a spectacle of sport but also a celebration of human spirit and inclusivity, set against the backdrop of one of the world’s most beautiful cities.