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Reuters

Parisians are the main buyers of tickets for the Paralympic Games, organisers said, rushing to grab a second opportunity to see competitions in some of the Games’ spectacular venues, after many chose to snub the Olympics or missed out on tickets.
In July, Parisians had left the city in droves ahead of the Olympics, with entire neighbourhoods turned eerily quiet as residents decamped as they feared the disturbance and traffic problems many thought the Games would bring.
But the Games turned out to be a global success. The Paralympics will allow them to see Olympic sports in the same venues, including at the feet of the Eiffel Tower or in the gardens of the Versailles castle outside Paris.
Organisers said that of the more than 1.75 million tickets already sold ahead of the August 28 start of the Paralympics, 92 per cent came from French buyers, with buyers from the Ile-de-France region around Paris taking the lion’s share of 73 per cent.
Parisian Mathieu Bucella is set to boost these numbers a little further.
“I’m seriously thinking about it because I’m a bit annoyed that I didn’t think of getting tickets for the (Olympic) Games, so this is my second chance,” he said.

Organisers said several sessions were nearly sold out already, notably wheelchair fencing and para taekwondo in Grand Palais, para track cycling in Saint Quentin, para equestrian in Chateau de Versailles and blind football at Champ de Mars.
“We were watching the Olympic Games on TV, but after that you get that gut feeling that you want to come and see everything with your own eyes,” Mexican tourist Arlet Haro said.
United States tourist Asad Rahman said he was glad to have come to Paris for the Paralympics.
“Things are a little bit more open than what we heard with the Olympics, where they closed off some areas. So it works out, as a tourist,” he said by the Eiffel Tower, where workers were converting the beach volleyball pitch into a blind football pitch.
Heavy security during the Olympics made movement across the city centre difficult as many key thoroughfares were blocked.
The Paralympics will run until September 8.


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The venue of the beach volleyball at the Champ-de-Mars, at the base of the Eiffel Tower, is being converted into a pitch for blind football, one of the more popular events. Photo: AP

Several sessions of wheelchair fencing and para taekwondo at the Grand Palais were almost sold out, organisers say. Photo: AP

Paris follows Athens and London with tourist-driven post-Olympic Games uplift to economy

Tourists stand next to the Louvre Pyramide designed by Chinese-US architect Ieoh Ming Pei during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Photo: AFP

Baker Tony Dore bites on his Olympic Rings-shaped bread at the Village Plaza Cafe. Tourist spending on food, drink, hotels, transport and other services rose significantly during the Games. Photo: EPA-EFE

Paris Paralympics 2024: Indonesia’s first 5 Paralympic Games archers take aim at gold

Indonesian archers (from left) Setiawan, Wahyu Retno Wulandari, Teodora Audi Atudia, Ken Swagumilang and Kholidin at their training camp in Central Java. Photo: AFP

Ken Swagumilang, a 2022 Asian Para Games bronze medallist, sees a Paralympic semi-final as a realistic goal. Photo: AFP

Kholidin, whose right arm has been amputated, can draw 18kg of bowstring using his molars. Photo: AFP

Teodora Audi Atudia will compete in the compound women’s wheelchair category. Photo: AFP

Paris Paralympics 2024: classification explained – who are eligible, how they are grouped

The Dutch athletics team training for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which take place from August 28 to September 8. Photo: EPA-EFE

Brazil’s Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo is classified as S2: ‘S’ for swimming and ‘2’ for degree of impairment. Photo: AFP

Italian swimmer Simone Barlaam, whose right leg is shorter than his left, is classified S9. Photo: Reuters

Poland’s Justyna Kozdryk celebrates winning bronze in Tokyo. Powerlifting is open to all but athletes compete by weight. Photo: Reuters

Paris Paralympics 2024: taking a closer look at 10 of the greatest summer Paralympians

Brazilian swimmer Daniel Dias, who was born with malformed upper and lower limbs, won three bronze medals in Tokyo to add to the 24 medals he won at three previous Games. Photo: AP

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson outside the Houses of Parliament. In London. Photo: Getty Images

Oscar Pistorius with the South African flag after he won the 400m – T44 final at the London 2012 Paralympics. Photo: AFP

Natalia Partyka competed in table tennis at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012. Photo: AFP

Great Britain’s Lee Pearson held a 100 per cent record of nine golds from nine events from his first three Games. Photo: AFP

Daniel Dias with his gold medal from the 200-metre freestyle S5 final at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Photo: AP

Sarah Storey, who was born without a functioning left hand, is Britain’s most successful Paralympian. Photo: EPA

Natalie du Toit was the first amputee to qualify for the Olympics when she swam at Beijing 2008. Photo: Xinhua

Paris Paralympics: refugee athletes deliver ‘message of perseverance’ as they seek medals

Afghan taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi, who was born without a forearm, is the only woman in the Refugee Olympic Team. Photo: AP

Ibrahim Al Hussein, who left the war in Syria in a wheelchair, will compete in the para triathlon in Paris. Photo: AP

Sport

Paris Olympics 2024

Many had left the city fearing crowds and traffic issues the Games would bring but now regret missing out on what turned out to be a success


Many had left the city fearing crowds and traffic issues the Games would bring but now regret missing out on what turned out to be a success.
