Each time there is an Olympics event, it is followed with the Paralympics – a two week event that allows athletes with disabilities to demonstrate their prowess in their chosen sport.

When the Paralympics comes to Paris in 2024, they will find some very special ceremonies and events and are taking the Games slogan “Games Wide Open” to heart.

Paris isn’t limiting their various sporting events in the Olympics and Paralympics to a massive stadium; but instead, are choosing to use the entire city with some unique venues.

The opening ceremonies for the Paris Paralympics will begin with over 4,000 athletes moving down one of the most famous streets in the world – the Champs-Elysées -and ending at the Place de la Concorde where during the French Revolution in 1789, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lost their heads.

Situated between the Tuileries Gardens, the Seine River, and the Crillon Hotel; the Place de la Concorde will also host breakdancing, the 3-on-3 basketball tournament, BMX Cycling, and skateboarding during the Olympic games.

Opening August 28, International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons spoke on the non-traditional opening ceremony saying it would be, “a thing of beauty, and a once-in-a-lifetime event that will go down in all our histories.”  He added, “this festival of inclusion all begins with the truly unique experience of thousands of Paralympians parading down the world’s most famous avenue. What an amazing thrill it’s going to be to enter the Champs-Elysées and then make the journey down to Place de la Concorde, all the while being framed by the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre.”

Paralympic organizers say that space will be made to accommodate 65,000 people for the opening ceremonies with some 30,000 of those tickets being made available to viewers for free.

French Paralympic and Sports Committee president Marie-Amélie Le Fur called the proposed opening, “a revolution.”

In a truly historic event, Paris Olympic and Paralympic organizers plan to make the entire city a sporting venue including historic landmarks the Eifel Tower and the Grand Palais.

However, the innovative approach to the games is going to cause some security, transportation, and logistical issues; especially for athletes with mobility issues.

Even the Olympic opening ceremonies will eschew the traditions of the past and have over 10,000 athletes coming down the Seine on boats.  Further breaking with tradition, the opening ceremonies for the Olympic games will be free for all attendees.  Billing it as the largest audience in Olympic history, organizers are expecting over half a billion spectators for the ceremonies.

Award winning French director Thomas Joly will direct both the Olympic and Paralympic opening ceremonies.