(UPDATE) PARIS — Paris has chosen the iconic Champs-Elysees avenue and the historic Place de la Concorde to host the opening ceremony for the Summer Paralympics on Wednesday.
The prestigious avenue sweeping through the 8th arrondissement to the west of central Paris is dotted with cafes, palaces and luxury shops and connects the Arc de Triomphe in the west with Place de la Concorde in the east in a single straight line.
TORCH RELAY French President of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet (right) takes a selfie with President of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee Emmanuelle Assmann (center) holding the torch of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games after arrival of the Paralympics flame at the entrance of the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles, northern France, on Aug. 25, 2024. The Paris 2024 Paralympics flame was lit in Stoke Mandeville of England and it will pass through the Channel Tunnel with 24 British torchbearers taking it halfway to hand over to 24 French torchbearers, who will take the torches to Calais, then 12 torches will travel across France from August 25 to 28. AFP PHOTO