Two British Paralympians, Helene Raynsford and Gregor Ewan, recently lit the Paralympic Heritage Flame in Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. The flame will now travel to France for a four-day relay, culminating in the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Paris. The lighting ceremony paid tribute to Ludwig Guttmann, the man who founded the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948 to promote inclusion in sport and motivation for spinal injury patients.
The Paris 2024 organising committee president, Tony Estanguet, expressed pride and excitement in hosting the 17th edition of the Paralympic Games, the first ever for France. The flame will symbolically cross the sea through the Channel Tunnel, marking the start of the Paralympic relay. A group of British and French athletes will carry the flame underwater before lighting 12 torches to symbolize 11 days of competition and the opening ceremony.
In addition to the Paralympic festivities, a special flame commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Paris from Nazi Germany will be lit using water and electric light, attached to a balloon that will fly over the Tuileries gardens each evening during the Paralympics. This environmentally friendly cauldron is the first in Olympic history to operate without fossil fuels.
Throughout the Paralympics, the flame’s offshoots will travel to 50 cities across France to promote inclusion in sport and raise awareness of living with disabilities. The unique Olympic cauldron attached to a hot-air balloon will serve as a symbol of unity and celebration during the 11 days of competition in Paris.
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