Like the Summer Olympics 2024, the opening ceremony of Paralympics 2024 took place outside a stadium.

A fortnight later, Paris is back in a festive mood. The opening ceremony of the Paralympics 2024 was inaugurated with a nearly four-hour-long programme at Place de la Concorde in central Paris.

This is the first time the opening ceremony of a Paralympic Games was held outdoors; just like the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics held at the heart of the city. But, unlike the Olympics, rain did not impact the Paralympics’ opening ceremony.

In the presence of around 50,000 spectators, French President Emmanuel Macron officially declared the Paralympic Games open. Fighter planes flew overhead, leaving red-white-blue vapours in the colours of the French national flag.

The Parade of the Nations started with Afghanistan and ended with the host nation France. India’s delegation was led by flagbearers Sumit Antil and Bhagyashree Jadhav.

The Paralympic torch was carried into the area by former Olympic wheelchair tennis gold medalist Michaël Jérémiasz. Five French Paralympians lit the Olympic cauldron, which looks like a hot-air balloon.