Thousands join Paralympic Day celebration in Paris a year before the Games

Tens of thousands of people discovered the attractions of Para sports at Place de la Republique on Sunday, 8 October, as the French capital hosted a large-scale Paralympic Day event with less than one year to go until the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.  

Held a day before the launch of the Paris 2024 ticket sales, Paralympic Day featured about 100 athletes who took part in sports demonstrations and met with their fans. US Para archery superstar Matt Stutzman and France's five-time Paralympian Arnaud Assoumani were among the athletes who took part in the second edition of the Paralympic Day in France. 

“It was impressive. You can see the diversity of people. Most people are discovering Paralympic Games and Para sport for the first time, which is really interesting because people are being curious, and they want to enjoy. This is really special, you can feel a lot of positive energy,” Assoumani said. 

Party in Paris 

The Place de la Republique was transformed into a huge open-air playground for the day, with the iconic statue of Marianne decorated to celebrate the special occasion.  

Visitors had the chance to try different Para sports and meet Paralympic stars. A large crowd gathered around athletes to ask for selfies and to express their excitement ahead of the first summer Paralympics in France. French President Emmanuel Macron also attended the event and tried out different sports, including wheelchair basketball and table tennis. 

The Paralympic Games sports featured in the event were Para judo, Shooting Para sport, Para rowing, wheelchair tennis, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, blind football, boccia, Para athletics, and Para badminton. 

“It's an awesome event just to educate people,” said US wheelchair basketball player Ryan Neiswender, one of the athletes who took part in the event.

“A lot of people are unaware of a lot of the sports that are in the Paralympics. So, for them to sit in a wheelchair or for them to play wheelchair basketball, to meet the athletes and to see the gold medals, I think it builds excitement. 

“We’re excited to be able to come back a year from now and put on a show for the world.” 

During the high jump demonstration, India’s Nishad Kumar, a Tokyo 2020 silver medallist, nailed a jump, and celebrated with a backflip as the crowd cheered and clapped. He is preparing for his second Games and said he was excited to see so many people gathering in Paris to enjoy a day of Para sports. 

“I want to thank everyone who showed up. This energy may transfer to the Games next year. Maybe some of the people who were here would watch my event next year and I might be able to get more energy from them,” he said.  

“I have a message to all disabled athletes and people with disabilities who want to get into sports. Don’t think of your disability as a major challenge in life. Just try to give your best in whatever you want to do.”  

Home support 

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which will take place between 28 August and 8 September, will feature 549 medal events across 22 sports. For the French athletes, the Games are a long-awaited opportunity to showcase their sport in front of a home crowd. 

Wheelchair player Charlotte Fairbanks shared what it means for her to introduce her sport to the people in France, the country she represents, with less than a year to go until the Games. 

“It’s a great day to raise awareness about our sport, about the Paralympic Movement as a whole. For the public to try out different Para sports is always great, and we always get great feedback so it’s always enjoyable,” French wheelchair player Charlotte Fairbank said. 

“There are so many people. It’s super encouraging that it’s changing perceptions of disabilities. We are super super happy and proud.” 

Para athletics star Assoumani, who aims to compete at his sixth Paralympic Games, said he felt the excitement from the crowd at Paralympic Day. Now he tells fans to be ready for a “big surprise” next year. 

“(At Paris 2024), expect to be surprised, expect to have a nice slap in the face, because it is something that you have never seen in your life,” he said.