Closing Ceremony of the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France
On September 8th Olesya Zaglada visited the historical and spectacular Closing Ceremony of the record breaking Paralympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France.
In the beginning of the closing ceremony the raising of the French flag to the sound of “The Marseillaise” played by a French trumpeter with a disability, André Feydy, was followed by the parade of the flag-bearers of the 169 Paralympic delegations present in Paris, representing 168 National Paralympic Committees and a Paralympic Refugee Team comprising eight athletes – a record in the history of the Paralympic Games. The previous participation record was 164 delegations at the Paralympic Games London 2012. Eritrea, Kiribati and Kosovo took part in the Paralympic Games for the first time in their history!
The president of Paris 2024 Organising Committee Tony Estanguet and International Paralympic Commitee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons have made last appreciation speeches on the occasion of the Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony.
Tony Estanguet emphasized that “France dared to imagine things that had never been done before: the first opening ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games outside a stadium, the first marathon open to all, the first Games in the heart of the city… France dared to believe in the power of sport.”
He thanked all athletes with appreciation that “Thanks to you, everyone has seen what an inclusive world looks like. You have launched this Paralympic revolution and now there is no turning back!”
International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons said in his speech:
“We all have a collective responsibility to use the momentum of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games to make the world around us more inclusive. What a Paralympic legacy this would be, not just for these athletes, but the world’s 1.3 billion persons with disabilities that they represent. “
Paralympic tributes were paid to the six newly elected members of the IPC Athletes’ Council (four women and two men: Martina Caironi (Para athletics) and Vladyslava Kravchenko (Para swimming) were re-elected, as were Yujiao Tan (Para powerlifting), Denise Schindler (Para cycling), Yoomin Won (wheelchair basketball) and Lenine Cunha (Para athletics), the first athlete with an intellectual disability to be elected) and the volunteers who supported Paralympic Games.
The athletes sang along with “California Dreamin'” as the Paralympic flag was passed from Paris 2024 to the host of the next Paralympic Games, Los Angeles 2028. The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and the Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, join Andrew Parsons and Tony Estanguet on the central stage. The Mayor of Paris hands over the Paralympic flag to the IPC President, who passes it on to the Mayor of Los Angeles.
At the end of the ceremony the whole Stade de France turned into a giant electro dance party with 24 artists from the French electro scene, including Jean-Michel Jarre, the father of electronic music in France.
Dr. Olesya Zaglada would like to thank our partners International Wheelchair Basketball Federation for inviting to Paralympic Games Paris 2024 and providing exclusive tickets to the closing Ceremony of Paralympic Games.