Paris is preparing to welcome 180 athletes to the Paralympics.

The Paralympic opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on August 28 with the participation of 180 parades from Champs-Elysées Avenue to Concorde Square.

Sân vận động Stade de France. — Stade de France Stadium.

According to a VNA reporter in France, after the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympics at the Stade de France stadium ended, the capital Paris is preparing to welcome 180 teams of disabled athletes to compete from August 28 to September 9.

The Paralympic opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on August 28 with the participation of 180 parades from Champs-Elysées Avenue to Concorde Square.

Over 12 days, about 4,400 athletes will compete in 22 sports at 18 venues.

The symbols of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games continue to adorn the streets of Paris. The mascot is still the Phrygian cap, but it runs on a prosthetic leg, symbolizing the disabled.

Sharing with the press, Mr. Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee, affirmed: "The Paralympics are no less important than the Olympics."

Mr. Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, likened the event to "the return match" and promised to be no less wonderful.

Separately, Ms. Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, stressed that the event would be even "more wonderful emotionally".

She said this year's Paralympics would have more participating countries, more venues and more tickets sold.

Like the Paris Olympics, the Paralympic events will take place primarily in Paris and the surrounding areas.

Except for the arenas in the Place de la Concorde, which were demolished to make way for the opening ceremony, 18 competition areas set up at Paris's landmark sites remained.

For example, the Grand Palais was designed for wheelchair fencing, the Invalides Museum is still for archery, the Champ-de-Mars Arena is the venue for para-judo and wheelchair rugby, and the stadium at the foot of the Eiffel Tower is the venue for blind soccer.

The Olympic Village continues to welcome athletes with disabilities. Right from the design stage, the village was designed to be fully accessible to people with disabilities: doors and balconies are wider than standard, and indoor equipment is arranged to be suitable for people with disabilities.

Access to public spaces has been designed for ease of movement with gentle slopes, appropriate lighting and signage.

Olympic and Paralympic organisers said around 100,000 15 euro tickets and more than 300,000 25 euro tickets were still on sale.

Olympic authorities such as Paris City Hall are counting on the interest of fans and the return of Parisians after the holidays. Nearly 300,000 places have been reserved for disabled people and their companions.

The Paralympics coinciding with the start of the school year will once again put additional strain on the Ile-de-France region's public transport network.

Around 6.5 million people are expected to use public transport every day, including tourists and employees going to work. Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete has assured that in addition to the 19,000 employees currently working, the transport sector will add 2,000 volunteers to help deal with the traffic congestion.

The piers most used during the Paralympic Games have been given priority for upgrading, with a focus on enhancing facilities and staff to support people with mobility disabilities (Assist'enGare) as well as communication solutions (Acceo) for customers with visual or hearing impairments.

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