Ceremonies: Surprises and an ode to electro

Directed by artistic director Thomas Jolly, the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, set to begin at 18:00 GMT, has yet to reveal all its secrets. What is known includes a ceremony at the heart of the city, featuring a parade along the Champs-Eysees and a subsequent show at Place de la Concorde.

Titled "Paradox," the show will focus "on all bodies," according to Jolly. The musical signature will once again be provided by Victor Le Masne, the composer of the Olympic Games anthem, while the choreography has been designed by Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman.

As for the closing ceremony on 8 September at the Stade de France, it will feature a grand electronic music concert, with 24 artists and DJs, including Jean-Michel Jarre, the iconic French electro figure, who will be joined by other big names from the 'French Touch' movement.

Complicated traffic on the 28th; 25,000 police officers

Last Friday, Paris police prefect Laurent Nunez predicted "complicated" traffic in the city centre for next Wednesday, when a security perimeter will be activated starting at 07:00 local time, with traffic restrictions in place. An estimated 50,000 people are expected at the opening ceremony, with 15,000 public seats available at one end of the Champs-Elysees.

Throughout the competition, up to 25,000 police officers and gendarmes will be deployed, along with 10,000 private security agents and 8,000 soldiers from the Sentinelle anti-terrorism operation.

Record number of delegations

Around 4,400 athletes will participate in these Paralympic Games, representing a total of 168 delegations, including a team of refugees, a record, according to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Eritrea, Kosovo, and the Kiribati Islands will be new participants in the event. There will also be a record number of female participants, with nearly 2,000 women (1,983), double the number from Sydney 2000 (988).

A filling Paralympic Village

The Paralympic Village, the same used for the Olympic Games, opened its doors last Wednesday. In total, this location will host 9,000 people, including athletes, administrative staff, assistants, doctors, and physiotherapists. By last weekend, the village had already welcomed "three-quarters" of its residents, according to Ludivine Munos, responsible for Paralympic integration within the Paris 2024 Organising Committee (COJO).

Already built to be accessible, some additional modifications were made, such as seats in the bathrooms, other mobility solutions, and a prosthetic repair centre. Its size was also reduced, as the number of occupants is lower than during the Olympic Games.

Ticket sales on the rise

After a slow start, ticket sales for the Paralympic Games were boosted by the success of the Olympic Games. Last Sunday, the Paris 2024 Organising Committee announced that more than 1.9 million tickets had been sold.

Several events that will take place at popular Olympic venues, such as the Grand Palais (wheelchair fencing), Versailles (para-equestrian), or the Eiffel Tower (blind football), continue to enjoy success among spectators.