MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. /TASS/. The official opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games has kicked off in the heart of the French capital of Paris on Wednesday night.

According to the organizers of the event, Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysees are being the hosts to 4,400 Paralympic athletes from 184 delegations as they celebrate the commencement of 11 days of competition, starting on August 29.

Artistic Director for the Ceremonies across the Olympic and Paralympic Games of Paris 2024 Thomas Jolly earlier stated that the show of the Paralympics opening ceremony on Wednesday night would "showcase the Paralympic athletes and the values that they embody."

The official website of the 2024 Paralympics cited Jolly as saying previously that the concept of the 2024 Paralympics opening ceremony: "first and foremost a magnificent source of inspiration… performances that have never been seen before" within the framework of the "spectacle that will unite spectators and television audiences worldwide around the unique spirit of the Paralympic Games."

President of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, Tony Estanguet, said earlier commenting on the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games: "This ceremony at the heart of the city is a strong symbol illustrating our ambition to capitalise on our country hosting its first-ever Paralympic Games to position the issue of inclusion for people with disabilities at the heart of our society."

The 2024 Summer Paralympic Games will be held in the French capital of Paris between August 28 and September 8. Russian Paralympians will be participating in the 2024 Games under a neutral status.

They were barred from taking part in the Parade of Athletes during the opening and closing ceremonies and also excluded from the 2024 Paralympics overall medal standings.

Earlier in the month, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that 90 Paralympians from Russia were cleared to take part in the 2024 Paris Summer Paralympic Games.

Pavel Rozhkov, the president of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC), announced to TASS earlier this week that "Russian athletes will not take part in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris… We will not be at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, although we have been granted the right to attend as spectators."

Russia's route to 2024 Paris Paralympics

On March 6, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) published strict eligibility criteria that Russian and Belarusian athletes and support personnel must meet and adhere to in order to participate as neutrals at the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris.

According to the IPC’s requirements "Neutral athletes will compete under a white flag featuring black lettering spelling out NPA [Neutral Paralympic Athletes]." The IPC also ruled that "NPA will compete as individuals in neutral uniforms under an NPA flag, and will not be able to take part in medals ceremonies or march in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies."

On September 29, 2023, the IPC General Assembly ruled at its session in Bahrain to suspend some of the rights the RPC has within the global organization.

However, the IPC General Assembly cleared Russian athletes to participate under a neutral status in international competition, including at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.

In mid-March this year, RPC President Pavel Rozhkov told TASS that Russian Paralympians and accompanying staff would don turquoise and beige at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

"They will wear varying shades of turquoise and beige… In line with the requirements on the neutral status participation of athletes, all national colors are prohibited from being displayed on uniforms and, in our case, this means the white, blue and red colors," Rozhkov said at that time.