2023-11-10 13:07:57
This is the first stage of the “return match” that the Paris 2024 teams unveiled this Friday noon. The Paralympic torch relay will mark, on August 25, the launch of the second part of the Games. A first in France for the Summer Games.
Four days of celebrations, 50 towns crossed, 1,000 “scouts” in individual or collective relays and above all a “multi-flame” relay, split into twelve to allow the whole of France to experience the launch of these Paralympic Games. Lit in mid-August in the suburbs of London, in Stoke Mandeville, the cradle of Paralympic sport, the Paralympic flame will pass through Limoges, Lorient and even Lourdes, before a final in Paris, to the Place de la Concorde where the opening ceremony of the Games will be held. Discover the route here.
Day 1 and 2: inclusive sport and heritage in the spotlight
August 25 and the first day of the Paralympic torch relay will be the arrival in France, after a launch, therefore, across the Channel. Direction Calais, via the Channel Tunnel! 24 Paralympic athletes and English personalities will pass the baton to 24 French counterparts, before an XXL deployment of the relay in twelve flames, which will cross France simultaneously. This is as much as the number of days of competition for the Paralympic Games (August 28 – September 8, 2024) and the opportunity for Paris 2024 to reach as many territories as possible.
“We wanted to highlight the heritage and history of France by crossing different places of sport and culture,” explain the organizers. The relay will thus stop at the Place des Heroes in Arras (Pas-de-Calais), visit the surroundings of the cathedrals of Limoges (Haute-Vienne) and Chartres (Eure-et-Loir) or cross the Napoleonic town of La Roche -sur-Yon (Vendée).
The Paralympic torch relay will be deployed in twelve, with the ambition of reaching as many territories as possible.
Paris 2024 also wanted to promote “cities which are committed to the practice of universal sport” and which promote the inclusion of all through sport. The torch relay will thus stop in Lorient (Morbihan), where Damien Seguin, the double Paralympic champion skipper, comes from, and in Blois (Loir-et-Cher), town of Marie-Amélie Le Fur, triple Paralympic champion in athletics and today president of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee but also by Thonon-les-Bains (Haute-Savoie), labeled “Active and sporting city”.
Cities with a sporting “DNA” and a “strong link” with the Games are also being honored, such as Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (Yvelines) where the track cycling events will take place, Lyon (Rhône) which will host several football matches, Chambly (Oise), one of the preparation centers for the Games along with Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes), also twinned with the city of Olympia in Greece.
Day 3 and 4: Île-de-France to get closer to Place de la Concorde
After two days spent in the four corners of France, the twelve relays will converge on Île-de-France, via Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne), Sucy-en-Brie (Val-de-Marne) or even Louvres (Val-d’Oise) which will organize, like all the cities hosting the relay, a “Flamme festival” surrounding this passage. On the program: concerts, activities or even an introduction to Paralympic disciplines.
After passing through the INSEP and the Bois de Vincennes in the morning, head to the city center with visits to all the districts. Meet at the Arènes de Lutèce (5th), at the Manufacture des Gobelins (13th), in the Grange aux Belles district (10th), at the Carreau du Temple (3rd) or even on Place Pigalle (9th). Then it’s time for the grand finale, Place la Concorde. This is where the last flame bearer will advance towards the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, outside the stadium, a first like for the Olympic Games.
And to best prepare for this event, Paris 2024 has already named its “captains”: Mona Francis, European paratriathlon champion, Florent and Laure Manaudou, Olympic swimming champions and Dimitri Pavadé, silver medalist at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in long jump. Like all of the 1,000 Paralympic flame bearers and 10,000 Olympic flame bearers, they will parade in white outfits designed by Decathlon.
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