May 20 marks the start of the home stretch towards the Paralympic Games in Paris. With 100 days to go before the event, Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), is confident about the success of this edition. Interview.
Paralympic Games, D-100. As preparations for the global disabled sports event enter their home stretch on Monday May 20, the president of the CIP, Andrew Parsons, gave an interview to France 24.
Elected president of the International Paralympic Committee in September 2017, the Brazilian was at the head of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee in 2009 and 2017. With extensive experience, he wants to be reassuring about the success of the Paris Games.
Andrew Parsons believes that France is on track to succeed in its challenge of having the most beautiful Paralympic Games in history. He also affirms that Paris 2024 will leave a lasting legacy in France in terms of accessibility and inclusion.
Where are we 100 days from the Paralympic Games ?
We are very satisfied with the state of progress in terms of operational planning. We learned a lot from last year’s test events.
We have broadcast agreements with 164 countries. And for the first time in the history of the Paralympic Games, we had to set up quotas of journalists per country. This is proof of success.
We are very optimistic. Spectators will be back, which will create an atmosphere like that of Tokyo in 2021 and Beijing in 2022. And there is the Paris factor! The test sites will be in the heart of the city which will create an incredible atmosphere. Blind football (football for the blind, editor’s note) in front of the Eiffel Tower, taekwondo at the Grand Palais, horse riding at Versailles… The images broadcast around the world will be extraordinary.
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On a sporting level, the level will also be high. It continues to increase every year. With this combination of factors, we will have great Games.
The London Games remain the historical reference. Paris’ goal is to do better : is this still a realistic objective?
What does it mean to “do better” than London? For us, London took the Paralympic movement to the next level. Twelve years later, Paris must allow a new step forward.
The aim will be to generate the broadest impact on a global scale. We want not only what happens on the grounds of Paris to change the lives of disabled people in France and around the world, but also to advance human rights.
One indicator of the popular success of these games will be ticket sales. At the moment, only a third has been sold. Is this worrying ?
We learned some lessons from London and Rio. We now understand the ticket sales curve much better. In London, 1.3 million had been sold in the last three months, 2 million in the last eight weeks for Rio. Currently, we are in a curve similar to that of London. I remain confident that we will manage to sell all the tickets before the opening ceremony.
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We think one of the positive aspects of Paralympic Games tickets is their price. For each sport, you can find tickets for €15 or less. The idea is not only to have affordable tickets and sell them but also to allow people to bring their families. The Paralympic Games are a good opportunity to educate people about disability issues.
Does the success of the Olympic Games depend on the success of the Paralympic Games? ?
Experience has shown that the Olympic Games can boost the Paralympic Games.
When the Olympics go well, people are better informed about the Paralympic Games. And some want to buy tickets so that the euphoria of the Olympics lasts a little longer. But it should also be noted that the Paralympics can suffer from competition from the Olympics. People can keep their budget to prefer Olympic tickets.
For Paris 2024, the choice was made to unify the Olympic Games and Para with the same venues, the same medals, the same logo, a single French team… Is this the way to follow for the inclusion and visibility of Para? -athletes ?
Each edition of the Games wants to tell its own story. Paris has adopted this approach which fits very well with the way France as a society and a nation sees the world.
The Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the first to hold the opening ceremony outside a stadium. You were skeptical at first… ?
It was an idea of the organizing committee which proposed a very daring approach. As a CIP, we were skeptical about the organization but we love the concept.
Hosting the opening ceremony on the world’s most famous avenue and Place de la Concorde is as if the city of Paris welcomed Paralympic athletes into its heart to embrace diversity and disability. The symbol is incredible. This will make Paralympic athletes very close to Parisians.
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There are today doubts about the feasibility of the opening ceremony along the Seine. We’re talking about plan B and plan C. What about the Paralympic Games? ?
I am not a security expert but the French authorities have experience securing the perimeter of the Champs-Élysées and Concorde. The arrival of the Tour de France has been taking place there for ages. There was a large fan zone at La Concorde for the Rugby World Cup.
It should also be noted that the Olympics take place before the Paralympics. So it makes sense that the focus should be on them. The opening ceremony of our Games will take place one month and two days later. Lessons will be learned. We all want the opening ceremony to be as safe as possible.
This Olympics is marked by the outbreak of two major conflicts: the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. How did the first conflict result in the exclusion of Russia and Belarus ?
As an organization, we were affected from the start of the conflict between the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics and the start of the Paralympics. The decision to exclude the athletes was made immediately.
In September 2023, the IPC General Assembly took the decision to exclude the two Olympic committees from Paris 2024 while authorizing athletes to compete under a neutral flag, provided they did not support the invasion. An independent agency does background checks on athletes. We will soon announce the list of athletes authorized to compete.
How can we explain that a different process was adopted regarding the war in Gaza?
The Russian Paralympic Committee and the Belarusian Paralympic Committee are using the Paralympic movement to promote the invasion of Ukraine. This is not authorized by our Constitution.
The case of the Israeli and Palestinian committees is different. None went against our rules by promoting war. A country or national Paralympic committee is not automatically suspended because its country is at war. So for the moment, the situation remains different according to our committee.
