How to watch the 2024 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony in Paris, including a free option

The action isn’t over in Paris just yet. Although it has been a month since the City of Lights welcomed the athletes of the world to come and compete in the Summer Olympics, the Paralympics are just getting started. The opening ceremony is today (Wednesday, August 28). Here’s what you need to know about the games and how to tune in.

A brief history of the Paralympic Games

While sporting competitions for athletes with disabilities have been around for more than a 100 years, it was in the aftermath of World War II that competitions became more prominent and widespread. This was because a whole generation of soldiers and civilians had been injured in the conflict.

Dr. Ludwig Guttmann paved the way for the games by opening a center specializing in spinal injuries at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Great Britain. Sporting events were part of patients’ rehabilitation, which evolved into competition. During the 1948 London Olympic Games, Guttmann organized the Stoke Mandeville Games, a precursor to the Paralympic Games. Sixteen former soldiers who used wheelchairs competed in archery.

In 1960, the Stoke Mandeville Games became the Paralympic Games. The first competition with the new moniker took place in Rome. This became a quadrennial tradition just like the Olympic Games.

The winter side of the Paralympic Games began in 1976 in Sweden. From then on, they have also been held every four years.

Athletes to root for in the 2024 Paralympics

Matt Stutzman is an American archer. He was born with no arms and uses his legs and feet to compete. In 2012, he took home silver and would love to add more accolades to his name.

Chuck Aoki is an American wheelchair rugby player. He has hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies type II, which is a genetic condition. This three-time Paralympic medalist thinks there is room for more—especially if it’s gold, which has eluded him so far.

Scout Bassett was abandoned as a child after she lost her right leg in a chemical fire. Because of her disability, she never went outside the Chinese orphanage that she spent seven years in. She was adopted by Joe and Susan Bassett in 1995 and turned to sports to learn English and make friends. She competed in the 2016 games and is looking for her first medal.

Details About the Opening Ceremony

Like the Olympics before it, the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony will take place outside of a stadium. The action starts on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées where the athletes will go on parade. This is open and free to the public. The second part takes place in the Place de la Concorde and is a ticketed event.

Thomas Jolly, the same director behind the controversial Olympic Opening Ceremony, is overseeing the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony as well. Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman is responsible for the staging and dancing for the event, which will feature dancers with disabilities.

How can I watch or stream the 2024 Paralympics live?

NBCUniversal owns the broadcast rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Traditional cable subscribers can turn in to the USA Network at 1 p.m. ET for a one-hour preview show followed by the main event, which is expected to be three hours long.

Cable cord-cutters can catch the action on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service. Unfortunately, there is no free trial option at this time.

However, a number of bundled live-streaming services carry USA Network. They include Sling, Fubo, and Hulu + Live TV. The latter two services are currently offering free trials.