Six teams representing the Paralympic Movement will be in the Paralympic Torch Relay

For the first time in the history of the Games, the Paris 2024 Paralympic Torch Relay and the Olympic Torch Relay will feature relay teams of 24 people, made up of champions, everyday athletes, volunteers, referees, and coaches. They will be organised to spread the energy of sport and teamwork throughout the country of France ahead of the Opening Ceremony of each Games.  

For the Paralympic Torch Relay, which takes place from 25-28 August, 200 torchbearers will take part in team relays, and six relays will be organised by the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF) to represent the identity of Para sport.

Additionally, as the part of the Olympic Torch Relay, Para and adaptive sport will take a prominent role throughout. Indeed, the French Disability Sport Federation (FFH), will have the honour of the inaugural team relay on 10 May in Var, Saint-Raphaël.

“The Torch Relay is a formidable catalyst for the energy of the regions of a nation hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The 2024 Torch Relay promises to be a powerful rallying point for people from all walks of life in the run-up to the opening of the Games”, said Marie Amélie Le Fur, President of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF).

“The Paralympic Committee's team relays will highlight those who embody our Movement. Whether they have helped give the Movement its place through their performance, are shaping it today through their commitment, or are its future”, she added.

Honour and tributes

The six relays are described as follows:

Young Para athletes Relay (Sunday 25 August in Antibes): They are the future of the French Paralympic team and they are excellent spokespeople because their voice is appreciated by the public. In this way, they will become fully involved in the relay and the Paralympic Games.

Paralympic Movement Volunteers Relay (Monday 26 August in Chambly): Made up of iconic volunteers from the Paralympic federations.  It is thanks to the commitment of volunteers that the Paralympic Movement was born and developed. This relay will pay them the tribute they deserve.

Innovative Actions Relay (Monday 26 August in Vichy): To highlight the people and organisations that are proposing and developing innovative actions, such as the programmes undertaken or supported by the CPSF (Impact 2024).

Paralympian Relays (Monday 26 August in Fontainebleau CNSD, and Wednesday 28 August in Paris): To pay tribute to their sporting achievements and give them a higher profile.  While today's Paralympic athletes are better known and receive more media coverage, their predecessors (until recently) trained and excelled in complete anonymity. Thanks to them, the Paralympic Games have become what they are today.  These two relays will showcase athletes with incredible track records.

Associations and Caregivers Relay (Tuesday 27 August in Pré-Saint-Gervais Pantin-Bobigny): Disability can turn the life of an individual or entire families upside down.  This relay will be made up of people who give their lives for those around them who have disabilities, and people who work on a daily basis in associations to help develop the rights of caregivers.

The final selection of the Torchbearers for the team relays went to Paris 2024 and will be announced in the coming days. They have been selected for their inspiring lives, which reflect at least one of the three energies of the Paris 2024 Torch Relays: 1. The energy of the sport, 2. The energy of the regions, 3. The energy of the communities.

The selection was done from June to September 2023 by the CPSF and sports federations, who pre-selected their teams of 24 Torchbearers and appointed their captains. Each team was created according to criteria like equality, different ages, and inclusion, among others.

More awareness for Para sport

Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, added that the Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay, which will be from 8 May to 26 July and will have approximately 10,000 torchbearers, “has also the special mission, as we host the first summer Paralympic Games to take place in France, to raise awareness of Para sport”.

During the Olympic Torch Relay the FFH, which works to promote and develop physical and sporting activities for people with motor, physical or sensory disabilities, both for leisure and competition, will lead two Para sport relays. In addition to the opening team relay on 10 May they will have another poignant one on 6 June in Morbihan, Ploemeur at the  Kerpape site that is the historic home of the FFH.

The French Adaptive Sport Federation, which with 65,000 members and 1,300 clubs it the largest sports federation for persons with disabilities, will also lead two relays. There will be on 22 June in Roanne, Loire, and on 30 June in Châlons-en-Champagne.

Furthermore, each of the federations is also keen to represent Para sport in their various team relays. The French Hockey Federation will be setting up two Para hockey pitches in the heart of Bordeaux and Amiens, and the French Badminton Federation will also be devising a Para sport scenario.