Paris 2024 legacy to improve "people's lives"

Paris 2024 is breaking records and the Paralympic Games are expected to beat the previous record for participating teams. A refugee team will also be taking part for the third year running.

Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, welcomed 2024 with good wishes and confidence for the future. He said: "The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are breaking records since the French capital was chosen to host the event. The edition of the Paralympic Games will not be left behind and its President announced in his New Year's welcome speech that they will "take the Paralympic Movement to the next level".

The goal, which has been on the roadmap since the first edition, is: "to enhance and improve the lives of athletes with disabilities". Paris, in partnership with the French government and the organising committee, wants to ensure that the legacy of the Olympic Games also contributes to improving the lives of people with disabilities.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will feature 17 venues. GETTY IMAGES

"The Paris 2024 Paralympics will take our movement to the next level. In August, the eyes of the world will be on the Concorde for an historic and incredible Opening Ceremony," said Parsons in his welcome speech for 2024. It is clearly that the crowd transforms a competition like this. The spectators in the stadiums create a special bond between the athletes and the fans.

After the pandemic prevented this interaction and diminished the spectacle of the event, it will return in Paris. It is always important for athletes to be recognised for their efforts and that recognition is back. Parsons went on to thank "our National Paralympic Committees, the International Federations and the more than €30 million invested by the IPC over the last ten years".

Andrew Parsons gave a confident welcome to 2024. GETTY IMAGES

The President expressed his hope that all these efforts will lead to improvements and support for "the 1.2 billion people with disabilities around the world and, in the long term, to greater opportunities for all".

The Paris Games will feature 17 competition venues, mainly in the city centre (nine venues) and in the Saint-Dennis area in the north (three venues). They will begin on 28 August and end on 8 September. 22 different sports will be represented. The ambition to create a historic edition has united all those involved.