The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics is underway in Paris, and Greece has made its triumphant entrance with its 37 athletes.
Paris is inviting the world once again tonight, as the 2024 Paralympics officially kick off.
This is the first time the French capital is hosting the Paralympic Games and therefore has prepared a spectacular opening ceremony.
For the first time in Paralympic history, the ceremony is being held outside of a stadium, similar to the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games that took place earlier in July.
The Paralympics ceremony, where Greece entered the stadium with its two flag-bearers, is taking place in the iconic Champs-Elysées and Place de la Concorde areas of Paris.
Among the 184 delegations that are parading down the Champs-Elysées, the Greek team is making a strong showing with Greece’s Paralympic hopes in Paris being higher than ever.
Inclusive Opening Ceremony: Dancers with disabilities and a touch of Emily in Paris charm
The ceremony, began at 8 p.m. (France time) and is titled “Paradox.” It aims to highlight the disconnect in a society that strives for inclusivity yet remains full of prejudices against people with disabilities.
Thomas Joli, the artistic director of the Paris Games ceremonies, hopes the three-hour show will break down “heroic clichés about people with disabilities.” He argues that people with disabilities are not “heroes” just for navigating the challenges of daily life, which are often shaped by societal and urban barriers. First and foremost, they are people like everyone else.
Joli also points out that “using the city as a setting for this ceremony is already a paradox, as cities are not fully adapted for people with disabilities.”
To bring this vision to life, Joli chose Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman. The ceremony will feature 140 dancers, including 16 with disabilities.
For the music, composer Victor Le Masne—who also composed the Olympic anthem—created scores filled with “a lot of percussion, a lot of keyboards, a lot of diversity,” blending musical theater with the French repertoire. For the costumes, styling director Daphne Bourqui selected French designer Louis-Gabriel Nouchi (LGN).
Nouchi challenged the costume designers from the popular “Emily in Paris” series to create around 700 costumes that could be adapted artistically for performers with special needs. “I immediately set up personalized meetings with all the performers to understand their physical needs,” LGN explained. “Some said, ‘I can’t have long sleeves because they need to be in contact with my chair,’ while others preferred to show one leg rather than the other.
Greece’s 2024 Paralympics team
Greece has sent a delegation of 37 athletes to compete across ten different sports in this year’s Paris Paralympics. Leading the way as flag bearers are Manolis Stefanoudakis and Theodora Paschalidou, two Paralympian champions who hope to make Greece proud once again.
Greece has a proud and rich history at the Paralympic Games, with the country earning a total of eleven medals in the last Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, held in 2021 in the Japanese capital.
Who are Greece’s Paralympics flag-bearers of the Opening Ceremony in Paris?
Manolis Stefanoudakis is a Paralympic javelin thrower who has made Greece proud multiple times. This will be the fourth time for the Cretan athlete to compete in the Paralympics, following his presence in Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and London in 2021, 2016, and 2012, respectively.
Stefanoudakis recently said that being the flag-bearer is an immense pride for him. “Who wouldn’t want to hold the Greek flag and represent their country?” he told reporters.
Stefanoudakis won a bronze medal in the 2012 London Paralympics and a gold medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics. He also won gold at the 2023 World Championships, which was held in Paris.
Theodora Paschalidou, the other flag-bearer for Greece in this year’s Paralympics opening ceremony, is a judo champion. “The flag is something I have dreamed of for years, and the fact that I will hold it in my hands is the highest honor, as it is for every athlete,” she told reporters recently.
Paschalidou won the prestigious “top athlete with a disability” award in 2023 in a ceremony organized by PSAT, the Panhellenic Association of Sports Media, something that shows her immense contribution to Greek athleticism.
(This is a developing story.)
