PARIS: The Paris Paralympic Games kicked off Wednesday with an opening ceremony held in a festive mood at the heart of the French capital.

In the ceremony, athletes from across the globe paraded through the Champs-Elysees and entered the Place de la Concorde. French President Emmanuel Macron declared the opening of the 17th Summer Paralympics, and the Paralympic cauldron was lit.

It was the time that a Paralympics opening ceremony has been held outside a competition facility. The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympic Games, which took place between late July and early August, was held on Paris’ iconic Seine River, instead of at a stadium.

France is hosting a Summer Paralympics for the first time. A total of about 4,400 athletes from nearly 170 countries and regions, a record high, and the refugee team are set to compete in 549 events in 22 sports during the Paris Paralympics, which runs until Sept. 8. About 45 pct of the athletes are women, marking the highest share in a Summer Paralympics on record.

From Japan, 175 athletes, a record-high number in a Paralympics held outside the Asian nation, are slated to take part in the Paris Games, whose slogan is “Games Wide Open,” the same as that for the Paris Olympics. Of the Japanese Paralympians, 100 are men and 75 are women.

In the procession at the opening ceremony, Japan was the 76th delegation, with male long jumper Daiki Ishiyama and female swimmer An Nishida serving as flag bearers.

Japan will compete in 21 sports, except sitting volleyball, aiming to break its record medal haul of 52 marked in the 2004 Athens Summer Paralympics. Japanese gold medal hopefuls include 18-year-old male wheelchair tennis player Tokito Oda.

Oda commented, “I will perform the script drawn by fate.”

“I’ll fight as hard as I can until the last point so that I can express my gratitude through my performance,” female wheelchair tennis player Yui Kamiji said.

Wheelchair rugby player Yukinobu Ike said, “I’m determined to do my best and produce the best results to let many people know about the attractions of the sport.”

More than 90 athletes from Russia, which continues its invasion of Ukraine, and Belarus, an ally of Moscow, are joining the Paris Games as neutral Paralympic athletes.

Competitions are set to start Thursday. A closing ceremony for the Paralympic Games will be held at the Stade de France stadium in a Paris suburb on Sept. 8.

JIJI Press