On August 28, more than 4,000 athletes will gather in Paris for the first Paralympic Games in French history, a unique event in a capital which will have to meet the challenge of accessibility and attract its audience for the celebration to be a success. . Five hundred and forty-nine events will animate the 11 days of competition.
Published on: 02/28/2024 – 2:50 p.m.
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According to the latest count provided by the organizing committee last week, more than 870,000 tickets, out of 2.8 million in total, were sold or allocated, including just over 23% to the general public. “ This is a normal sales curve for the Paralympic Games » explained Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, “ we know that things will accelerate as the Games approach ».
This observation is shared by Tony Estanguet, president of the organizing committee, who indicated during a press briefing at the end of December: “ Traditionally, in all the latest editions of the Games, a little less than half of the tickets are sold at the time of the Olympic Games, very late, and it is very likely that we will not be an exception.. »
Working to raise awareness of the Paralympic Games
New communication campaigns around the event will be launched in the spring while the organizing committee also wants to continue its awareness-raising work among the general public to make known the particularities of the Games, like the classification system. Working to raise awareness of the Paralympic Games remains one of the major projects facing the organizers while eyes are currently focused on the Olympic Games, which will take place a month before. “ We realized four years ago that the French did not know the content of the Paralympic Games well. A lot of acculturation work is necessary », explains in particular Ludivine Munos, responsible for Paralympic integration within the organizing committee and three-time Paralympic swimming champion.
French para-athletes hope that the Paralympic Games will constitute “ a springboard » pour « change the looks » on disability and inclusion. “ We want to change the way we look at disability and stimulate as many people with disabilities as possible by telling them: it’s possible. “, explains Sandrine Martinet, parajudoka and standard bearer of the French delegation to Tokyo 2020, to AFP. It changed our lives and we want our journey to be inspiring and make people want to » to take up sport, says the Rio Paralympic champion in 2016, in category B2 (visually impaired).
In Tokyo, the French delegation won 55 medals. From now on, the French team wants to exceedis this figure at home. “I think it’s important to be ambitious, nothing prevents us from achieving this objective », Declared to AFP Sami El Gueddari, responsible for performance within the French Disabled Sports Federation. In total, between 120 and 135 athletes should make up the French delegation.
