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Paris Paralympics 2024: When does it start, where will the events be, who to watch from ParalympicsGB and more

The PhrygesImage source, Marc Piasecki
Image caption,

Oh hey there! These are The Phryges, the mascots for the Olympic and Paralympic games this year

From today Paris will host the 2024 Paralympic Games.

More than 4,000 athletes are competing in more than 500 events across 22 different sports.

Which athletes should you be looking out for, when do the games start, and what else do you need to know? Check out our full guide below.

When do the Paris Paralympics start?
  • The games start on 28 August, and end on 8 September

  • The opening ceremony will feature athletes making their way through central Paris to the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elys茅es

Where will the different Paralympic sports be held in Paris?

There are lots of different venues across Paris for the Paralympics, but here are a few highlights.

The Stade de France is the location for all the Para-athletics events. It's the largest stadium in France.

Image source, Matthias Hangst
Image caption,

The Stade de France hosted the final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup

Versailles, also known as Chateau de Versailles, is hosting para equestrian. Versailles was first built in the 17th century under former French King Louis XIV, and it's been home to some huge moments in French history.

And if you thought a historic castle wasn't iconic enough - how about playing sport underneath the Eiffel Tower?

Image source, Paralympics / Paris 2024
Image caption,

This is what the team behind the Paralympics in Paris say the pitch will look like

A temporary arena has been built in the Champ de Mars, a park at the foot of the tourist hotspot, for blind football.

Which sports are at the 2024 Paralympics?

Image source, Naomi Baker
Image caption,

Stuart Robinson shone for Great Britain in wheelchair rugby at the last Paralympics, which were held in Tokyo

There are different 22 sports played at the Paralympics. There's athletics, which features lots of different activities like shotput and running, then team sports like wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.

There's cycling, swimming and triathlon, and martial arts fans will get to watch judo and taekwondo.

Image source, Adam Pretty
Image caption,

Brad Snyder crosses the finish line with his guide Greg Billington, winning gold for the USA in the PTVI triathlon. Athletes who are visually impaired have a guide racing the triathlon with them.

If you want more water sports, there's going to be rowing and canoeing.

The others are archery, badminton, blind football, boccia, equestrian, goalball, powerlifting, shooting, sitting volleyball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair tennis and table tennis.

Did you know?
  • The Paralympic flame, which is taken on a relay to Paris to mark the start of the Games, was lit in Stoke Mandeville, in the UK

  • This is because Stoke Mandeville is considered the birthplace of Paralympic sport

  • In the 1940s, there were no Paralympic games. After World War Two ended, a professor in Stoke Mandeville organised an archery tournament for inured former soldiers who were using wheelchairs

  • The Stoke Mandeville Games soon became an international competition, and in the 1960s, they became the first ever official Paralympic games, in Rome, Italy

  • Because of this, Stoke Mandeville was chosen as the 'home' for the Paralympic flame last year

Image source, Bettmann
Image caption,

This picture shows Dutch athlete Joep de Beer taking part in the javelin competition in the Stoke Mandeville games in 1954

Which ParalympicsGB athletes are the ones to watch in Paris?

Image source, Getty Images

Great Britain have a team of more than 200 athletes at the Paris Paralympics, across 19 different sports.

Among those hoping for gold is table tennis player Will Bayley, who wants to add to his current medal stash. Bayley has one gold and three silver. He made it to the final at the last Paralympics in Tokyo, coming away with silver.

Another important one to watch will be Kare Adenegan. Hannah Cockroft is Britain's wheelchair racing champion, with seven wins under her belt, but team-mate Adenegan is the only one to have beaten her so far on the international stage.

Adenegan represented Great Britain when she was only 15 years old at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio.

What about Para-athletes from the rest of the world?

Image source, Getty Images

More than 4,000 different para athletes from all over the world are in Paris - all hoping to come home with a medal. Who else should we be looking out for?

In the World Championships in 2022, US swimmer Leanne Smith won a whopping seven gold medals. Since then, she's been in hospital because of an injury, but hopes to come back in 2024 in Paris and add to her collection.

Avani Lekhara is hoping to scoop up a medal in shooting for India. She's currently ranked the world number one, having won gold and bronze medals at the last Paralympics in 2020 in Tokyo.

France, as the host for the games, is putting forward some of their best athletes too. These include wheelchair racer Pierre Fairbank, and badminton star Lucas Mazur.

What are you most looking forward to seeing in Paris 2024? Let us know in the comments below.