The 17th Paralympic Games began under blue skies then lit up the night as Paris made a powerful start in extending to disability sport the same energy and joy that has so far characterised its historic summer.
In the coming 11 days there will be new heroes made, new stories told and, just perhaps, the possibility of a legacy of positive change for people with disability. But in front of a crowd of 35,000 spectators at the Place de la Concorde, a ceremony threaded together by bold, expressive dance and featuring a parade of 128 often jubilant competing nations created a party atmosphere, and an image of a country still “en fete”.
