Darren volunteers at the 2024 Paralympic Games

The Paralympics Games opened yesterday evening with our very own CEO, Darren Redmayne, in Paris for the event, taking part as a volunteer.

Just like the Olympic ceremony, the Paralympic opening ceremony broke with tradition and took place not in a stadium but in the streets. Athletes paraded down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées before arriving at the Place de la Concorde.

“I am proud to be a volunteer helping with the swimming events in the La Defense Arena” says Darren, “Swimming is one of the biggest sports at the Paralympic Games in terms of the number of events and competitors and one in which Team GB excel”.

Unlike at the Olympics, there will be athletics and swimming throughout the whole games.  Swimming events comprise medals in Freestyle, Backstroke, Butterfly and Breaststroke across distances that range from 50m to 400m.

Team GB has a great record in the Paralympics, finishing second in the medal table at Tokyo 2020 – picking up 41 golds, 38 silvers, and 45 bronze medals. Wishing them all the best of luck for this year’s games!

Where can I watch the games?

 The games are being broadcast on Channel 4 over the 12-day event. Coverage starts at breakfast time and follows all the medals and stories of the day until the action concludes, broadcasting across two channels and Channel 4 Streaming. For the first time since London 2012, the key finals and podium moments will take place in primetime viewing!

Click here for more information on Channel 4’s coverage and who knows, you may see Darren on the big screen!

The history of the Paralympics

 The Paralympic Games began in 1948 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital near London where Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a neurosurgeon who had fled Nazi Germany, set up the National Spinal Injuries centre.

Recognising the rehabilitative effect of sport on both the mental and physical health of patients, Ludwig created the Stoke Mandeville Games, which evolved into the Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960.

The term “Para” means parallel to the Olympics, with the games always following in quick succession to the Olympic games.