The Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony will take place this evening on the Place de la Concorde in Paris in front of a live audience of 65,000, across four stages and with a global tv audience in the hundreds of millions.
Just like the Olympics, this has the potential to be the greatest-ever Paralympic Games. Prior to London 2012, the Games struggled to grab our attention, but those Games transformed not only the way we view elite sport for those with disabilities but also the wider landscape in which they live.
Tokyo was hard on athletes and will go down in history as the Games that got away but Paris Olympics were a triumphant re-entry to our consciousness and the Paralympic Games promise to be the same.
RTÉ will have hundreds of hours of coverage on free-to-air and streaming channels and it is down to us to get engaged in the same way as we did with the Olympic Games. It will be worth the time and if you enjoyed Paris 24 in any way, get set for the second half.
Keep up to date with all the Irish athletes participating in our daily coverage from the Games.
Ireland is sending a 35-strong team to the Games in Paris. The athletes will be competing across nine sports. Ireland has competed at every Paralympic Games since the first in Rome in 1960.
This year marks the highest-ever level of investment in High-Performance Sport in Ireland, with €25m being provided. There has also been a substantial increase on the €59 million invested in the Tokyo cycle, with more than €89 million invested from 2021 to 2024, reflecting the government’s commitment to delivering long-term sustained progress in sport.
“The Paralympic Games are amongst the most prestigious and eagerly awaited sporting events worldwide,” said Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
“It is a tremendous achievement for any athlete to reach the standard required to compete against the best in the world at the Paris Games.”
“Every single one of the 35 competitors that are travelling to Paris deserve enormous credit and recognition for their hard work and dedication in getting to the games. All those who have supported them on their journey to Paris deserve similar credit, be they family members or in a coaching capacity.”
“I encourage Irish people everywhere to get behind the team over the next fortnight or so and show your support for them, whether that is in France or at home in Ireland. I am confident that they will deliver some memorable, outstanding performances over the coming weeks and I also look forward to meeting some of the athletes at the Games over the next few days.”
“I want to extend my very best wishes to the members of Team Ireland competing at the Paralympic Games,” added Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne.
“I have already had the privilege of meeting some of the 35 members of Team Ireland and I look forward to meeting more of them next week in Paris. To become a Paralympian and represent your country is an incredible achievement and I know that this is something that is greatly appreciated, by not only the athletes themselves, but also by the wider public.”
“The members of Team Ireland competing at the Paralympic Games are already inspiring the next generation of athletes. I can assure the athletes that their efforts are greatly appreciated by the Government and we intend to continue our strong financial support for sport in Ireland, all the way from the grassroots to the high performance level. I greatly look forward to joining Team Ireland supporters, at home and across the world, in cheering on our athletes to success at the Paralympic Games.”
The Government and Sport Ireland provide a range of funding streams to Paralympics Ireland, including High-Performance Programme Funding, Direct Athlete Funding, Administration and operations Funding, and paralympic games support funding.
Combined across all funding streams, Sport Ireland will have invested over €8m in Paralympics Ireland throughout the Paris Cycle 2021-2024.
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