The Paris 2024 Paralympic Torch Relay Begins

At noon on August 24 (local time), the Paris 2024 Paralympic torch lighting ceremony was held at Stoke Mandeville Hospital (Northwest England) to pay homage to the origins of the Paralympic Games.

The Paralympic movement was born in 1948. At Stoke Mandeville Hospital, German neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttmann organised a sports competition, allowing veterans injured in World War II the opportunity to compete, while the Olympics were taking place in London.

Named the Stoke Mandeville Games, the amateur athletes at the tournament inspired the first Summer Paralympics, held in Rome, Italy, in 1960, with 400 athletes from 23 countries competing. Since then, the event has been held every four years, like the Olympics.

According to the announcement, attending the torch lighting ceremony on August 24 were President of the Paris 2024 Olympic Organizing Committee - Mr. Tony Estanguet and President of the International Paralympic Committee Andrew Parsons.

It will be the first time since the London 2012 Games that the Paralympic flame will be lit in its home town of Stoke Mandeville, with British Paralympians Helene Raynsford and Gregor Ewan tasked with lighting the torch.

Next, 24 British citizens will carry the torch through the Channel Tunnel and hand it over to 24 French citizens at the border between the two countries.

Leaving the tunnel, the flame will be shared among 12 torches, carried by a total of 1,200 people, who will take turns carrying the torch through 50 towns in France.

On August 28, these torches will converge in Paris, coinciding with the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics. According to the organizers, the 12 torches symbolize the 12 days of competition of the 2024 Paralympics.

The 2024 Paralympics, which will be held in France for the first time, will open in the area between the Champs-Elysees and the Place de la Concorde, with performances choreographed by artistic director Thomas Jolly.

Organizers are aiming to sell around 2.5 million tickets for this year's games. Some 4,400 athletes will compete in 549 events at 18 venues, including 16 former Olympic venues, such as the Grand Palais, the Palace of Versailles and the Stade de France.