Late night for Aussies as Paralympics blast off with ceremony in heart of Paris

Paris: With less than 12 hours before he was due to hit the pool, swimmer Brenden Hall valiantly fulfilled his role as an Australian flag-bearer at the Paralympic Games in Paris in an opening ceremony in which thousands of athletes paraded along the Champs-Elysees.

Thirty-four of Australia’s 160 athletes marched in the three-hour ceremony that celebrated the strength and differences of people with disabilities, led by three-time gold medallists Hall and wheelchair racer Madison de Rozario waving the flag.

Paralympic athletes march along “the most beautiful avenue in the world”, the Champs-Elysees.Credit: Getty Images

Tens of thousands of spectators lined “the most beautiful avenue in the world” to cheer on 5100 athletes from almost 170 nations as they marched to the Place de la Concorde.

Wednesday’s ceremony – the first Paralympic opener to take place in the heart of the host city – began with performers dancing on a sprawling stage around the Luxor Obelisk, a 23-metre-tall monument that has sat in the centre of the famous square for two centuries.

One larger group of performers was dressed in monotonous black suits and danced in sync, representing mainstream society, while the other celebrated the diversity of people with disabilities, as performers using wheelchairs and crutches pulled various moves in colourful outfits.

French Paralympic swimmer Theo Curin zoomed his way to the stage in a taxi covered in Phryges – the red, squishy Paralympic mascot, which unlike the Olympic version, has a prosthetic leg.

Performers dance on stage at the Place de la Concorde.Credit: Getty Images for PNZ

There, Curin declared the Games open. “Welcome to Paris!” he yelled, before a French tricolour explosion of red, white and blue smoke blasted into the sunset.

Unlike at the Olympics opening ceremony, which took place along the Seine River on a day when the rain bucketed down, the Paralympians returned to land and got a clear, balmy summer’s evening.

The opening ceremony is an arduous process for athletes. The Akubra-wearing Australian contingent was to be out from about 5pm until 11pm, in part because the nation, as hosts in Brisbane in 2032, was third last to march.

Australia’s Paralympians march into the Place de la Concorde during the Paris 2024 opening ceremony.Credit: Getty Images

Australia’s support team spent the day before the ceremony preparing measures to minimise the effects of fatigue on athletes who are competing early in the competition.

Hall, who is swimming at his fifth Paralympics, will be diving into the pool at 9.30am the next morning (Thursday, Paris time) for the 400-metre freestyle.

To reduce the number of steps he had to take, he spent part of the parade riding on a scooter.

De Rozario’s first race, the 5000 metres, is on day two.

The Phryge covered car at the opening ceremony, driven by para-swimmer Theo Curin.Credit: Getty Images

“The reality is, I would have made the decision every single time [to participate in the opening ceremony],” she said.

“It’s such an enormous honour and privilege, so I think, even though you’re conscious that it has an impact on how you may have prepared for the race, you just put all those pieces where they need to go and put a plan together and you get to represent Australia as best you can.”

The marathon champion, whose wheelchair was modified with a flagpole holder, told reporters ahead of the ceremony that she was nervous.

“As the opening ceremony has gotten closer, I’m like, I have no idea how to do this. This is not in my skill set to wave an enormous flag. I have the set-up ready but I’m still optimistic that Brenden will be doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to actually holding the flag.”

The French were the last to march in the parade, as the 1969 song Les Champs-Elysees boomed across Paris, before changing to the theme song of the film Amelie.

The Paralympic symbol, the agitos (from the Latin word “agito”, meaning “I move”), has replaced the Olympic rings on the Arc de Triomphe.

The ceremony promoted a “Paralympic revolution”, apt in the city that was the birthplace of one of the best-known revolutions in history.

Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the Paris 2024 ceremonies, said the setting of the Paralympics opening event was designed to highlight how many modern cities remained inaccessible for people with disabilities.

“Towns and cities are not designed with people with disabilities in mind, and many projects need to be undertaken or continued to enable greater mobility, full accessibility, to fight against isolation and for equal freedom of movement,” Jolly said.

International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons said: “By staging this event in Place de la Concorde and Champs-Elysees, I feel like Paris is warmly embracing the Paralympic movement to the heart of this city and the core of this country.”

Torchbearers light the Paralympic cauldron to finish the opening ceremony.Credit: Getty Images

The ceremony ended with an official opening by French President Emmanuel Macron before a last performance by dancers portraying athletes in white tracksuits, and the raising of the Paralympic flag along to the event’s anthem.

Five French Paralympians finally each carried a Paralympic torch to light the special cauldron that was used for the Paris Olympics – a giant, gold, smoky structure attached to a hot-air balloon that will float over Paris every evening during the Games.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games is live and free on Channel 9, 9Gem and 9Now and ad-free on Stan Sport.

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