Tonight the Revolutionaries Are You

Dear athletes,

Dear lovers of the Games in France and around the world,

Welcome to the country of love… and the country of revolution.

Since tonight is the start of the most beautiful of all revolutions: the Paralympic revolution. 

Tonight, the revolutionaries are you, the athletes.

Like our ancestors with their phrygien caps, you have panache and audacity.

Like all the revolutionaries around the world, you have courage and determination. 

Like them, you are fighting for a cause that is bigger than you.

But, in your case, your weapons are your performances.

In your case, your weapons are your records. 

In your case, your weapons are the emotions of sport.    

Even if all your life stories are unique, you have often lived with people listing all the things you are unable to do.

Until the day you first entered a sports club.

On that day, you understood that sport would not impose any limits.

On that day, you understood that sport would never put you in a box.

Like all athletes, you trained, you sweated, you failed and you got back up again…

And you became the great champions that we are honoured to have with us tonight.

What makes you revolutionaries is that, when they told you “no,” you continued. 

When they said “disability,” you replied “performance.”

When they said it was impossible, you did it.

And tonight you are inviting us to join you in this Paralympic revolution.

Tonight, you are inviting us to change our perspectives, change our attitudes, change our society to finally give every person their full place.

Because when the sport starts, we will no longer see men and women with a disability, we will see you: we will see champions.

With you, we are going to re-live all the most beautiful things that sport has to offer.

We will be like kids when you are on the start line. 

We will be like coaches when it gets to match point.

We will be wild supporters when you cross the finish line!

As with the Olympians, each of your victories will make an entire country proud.

But your power is such that each of your victories will also make a whole country change.

Each of your victories will help to move the world forward.

Because every emotion that you make us feel will carry a message that will never be forgotten:

You have no limits, so let us stop imposing limits on you.

That is the Paralympic revolution.

A gentle revolution, but one that is going to profoundly change every one of us, forever. 

An individual revolution, but one with a universal reach.

A sudden revolution: on 9 September, we are going to wake up different. 

There are few events that can truly make the world a better place.

The Paralympic Games have this unrivalled power, not only to thrill us but also to transform us.

So tonight, I want to thank the International Paralympic Committee and its President Andrew Parsons: thank you for giving us this unique opportunity to revolutionise the way we see the world. 

I would also like the thank all those public and private partners who have allowed this revolution to start:

Thank you, Mister President of the Republic,

Madam Mayor of Paris,

Madam President of the French National Paralympic Committee,

Madam Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games,

Madam President of the Ile-de-France region,

Mister Presidents of the Greater Paris Metropolitan Area and the Seine-Saint-Denis department,

Ladies and gentlemen representatives of French and international sport,

Dear partners, 

Thank you for your commitment. Thank you for putting all your passion and ambition into this project.

Thank you to this frenzied publicthat we discovered this summer, and that is back with us this evening!

Dear lovers of the Games, dear fans of ‘Les Bleus’ 

It’s not over, we’re going to experience more incredible moments!

It’s not over, our French athletes still need you!

Tonight, Team France is back in business, ready to break all the records!

Dear French athletes,

You’ve been waiting for this moment forever, and you are going to have the most wonderful crowds to carry you all the way to the podium.

They’ve practiced their songs,

They’ve painted their faces,

They’ve got their flags ready

They are going to make you feel the force of a whole country behind you.

Dear athletes of the world, these fans will be here for you too.

 You are 4,400 Paralympians here in Paris.

You represent 168 delegations.

You are the best Para athletes on the planet.

You inspire us, yes, but inspiration needs action.

So, like you, we’re determined to give everything—our heart, our soul and the best of France:

• Breathtaking venues,
• Unprecedented Ceremonies,
• An atmosphere as crazy as your collective achievements.

The Paris 2024 team has been working for years to welcome you.

Our volunteers are ready to make this the most fun and festive revolution that France has ever seen.

Above all, you will find an entire country in love with the Games, which is so proud to host you for the very first time.

It’s the best return match in history that is starting tonight!

Dear athletes,

Dear revolutionaries of France and the whole world,

Our revolution begins now!

Welcome to the Paralympic Games of Paris 2024!