The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and 70 metres (230 ft) wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. It is known for its world-famous theatres, cafés, and luxury shops; as the finish of the Tour de France cycling race; and for its annual Bastille Day military parade. The name is French for the Elysian Fields, the place for dead heroes in Greek mythology. It has been described as the "most beautiful avenue in the whole world".
The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony starts the Olympic torch relay, which formally ends with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Through 2022, the flame would continue to burn in the cauldron for the duration of the Games, until it was extinguished during the Olympic closing ceremony. In 2024, electric lighting and mist were used to create a simulated flame for the Olympic cauldron, with the actual flame kept in a lantern exhibited at an adjacent location. That lantern was then taken by French swimmer Léon Marchand from Jardins des Tuileries and ceremonially "transferred" to the Stade de France at the start of the Closing Ceremony: there it was finally extinguished just after the IOC president declared officially closed the Games.
The Champ de Mars is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius in Rome, which was dedicated to the god Mars. The name alludes to the fact that the lawns here were formerly used as drilling and marching grounds by the French military.
The Tuileries Garden is a public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Created by Catherine de' Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was opened to the public in 1667 and became a public park after the French Revolution. Since the 19th century, it has been a place for Parisians to celebrate, meet, stroll and relax. During the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, it was the site of the Olympic and Paralympic cauldron.
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was first time the new Paralympic logo featured in the Summer Paralympics since its rebranding after the 2004 Summer Paralympics.
The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in France, with several events started from 24 July. Paris was the host city, with events held in 16 additional cities spread across metropolitan France, including the sailing centre in the second-largest city of France, Marseille, on the Mediterranean Sea, as well as one subsite for surfing in Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Assia El Hannouni is a French track and field athlete who specialises in the 800 metres Paralympic sprint. She has Retinitis pigmentosa which means that she is almost blind, with less than one tenth vision in her left eye, and zero in her right eye. She also runs against athletes without disabilities, in 800m sprint events.
The 2024 Summer Paralympics, also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, and branded as Paris 2024, is the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international multi-sport parasports event governed by the International Paralympic Committee, being held in Paris, France, from 28 August to 8 September 2024. These games mark the first time Paris is hosting the Summer Paralympics and the second time that France is hosting the Paralympic Games, as Tignes and Albertville jointly hosted the 1992 Winter Paralympics. France also hosted the Summer 2024 Olympics.
Paris 2024 is the successful bid to bring the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and the XVII Paralympic Games, to the French capital city. Paris formally announced its intention to bid on 23 June 2015 – the date on which Olympic Day is globally celebrated. Following withdrawals in the 2024 Summer Olympics bidding process that led to just two candidate cities, the IOC announced that the 2028 Summer Olympics would be awarded at the same time as the 2024 Games. After Los Angeles agreed on 31 July 2017 to host the 2028 Games, Paris was the only candidate city left in the bidding process for the 2024 Games. It was officially announced at the IOC Session in Lima, Peru.
Togo competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. The country's participation in Rio marked its debut appearance in the quadrennial event, although it had competed in the Summer Olympics nine times since the 1972 Games. The delegation consisted of a single lightweight powerlifter, Aliou Bawa, who qualified by being issued with a Bipartite Commission Invitation spot by the International Paralympic Committee. Bawa was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Bawa failed to record a mark in the men's 49 kg category after being unable to lift 113 kilograms of weight in his three attempts.
Senegal sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the fourth successive appearance for the nation in a Summer Paralympic Games after it debuted at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. Youssouphua Diouf, a javelin thrower, and shot put and discus thrower Daque Diop were the two athletes sent to Rio de Janeiro by Senegal. The delegation failed to win the country's first medal at the Summer Paralympics as its best performance in these Games was Diouf's seventh position in the men's javelin F56-57 event.
Mauritius sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the fifth time the country had taken part in a Paralympic Games after its debut at the 1996 Summer Paralympics. The Mauritian delegation to Rio de Janeiro consisted of two athletes: wheelchair racer Brandy Perrine and short-distance swimmer Scody Victor. The nation's best result was tenth overall by Perrine in the women's 100 metres T54 event as both competitors did not progress to the final in their respective competitions.
Cameroon sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the nation's second appearance at a Summer Paralympic Games after it made its debut four years earlier at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. They were represented by one athlete, shot put thrower Christian Gobe, who contested one event, the men's shot put F55. In that competition, he finished eighth out of twelve athletes with a throw of 10.28 metres.
Conrat Frederic Atangana is a Paralympian from Cameroon who represented his country at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in powerlifting's men's -56 kg event.
The closing ceremony of the 2020 Summer Paralympics took place on 5 September 2021 at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.
The Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games took place on 28 August as a "people's parade" on the Champs-Élysées. Athletes from 184 delegations moved from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Élysées to the Place de la Concorde.
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics took place on 26 July 2024 across Paris, beginning at 19:30 CEST. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings included an artistic program showcasing the culture of the host country and city, the parade of athletes and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. The Games were formally opened by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron. The ceremony marked the 130th anniversary of the International Olympic Committee, the centenary of the 1924 Summer and Winter Olympics, and the 235th anniversary of the French Revolution.
The 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron was made for the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, France. It was designed by Mathieu Lehanneur and was lit by two Guadaloupeans – judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-José Pérec – in the Olympic opening ceremony, and by Alexis Hanquinquant, Nantenin Keïta, Charles-Antoine Kouakou, Fabien Lamirault and Élodie Lorandi in the Paralympic opening ceremony.
The 2024 Summer Paralympics torch relay was held from 24 to 28 August 2024. The torch relay began with the lighting of the Paralympic Heritage flame in Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom, on 24 August. The next day, the torch arrived in France via the Channel Tunnel, thus beginning the torch relay. The torch was split into 12 parts and visited 12 different cities across France. The French leg ended during the opening ceremony when it was used to light the Paralympic cauldron. The cauldron was erected at the Tuileries Garden's central fountain. In total, the relay visited 50 cities and had 1000 torch bearers.
The closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympics will be held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France on 8 September 2024 from 20:00–23:00.
