Paralympics 2024!

We are nearing the end of the Paris Olympics 2024, but it's not over yet!

The Paralympics kicks off on the 28th of August for twelve days packed with your favourite sports, with top athletes inspiring and exciting the world with their performances.

BetBeast will be there every step of the way, giving you top odds on every throw, jump, dive, and sprint!

Here is all you need to know about the Summer Paralympics 2024.

When are the 2024 Summer Paralympics?

This year’s summer Paralympics will be held shortly after the end of the Olympics, between Wednesday 28th August to Sunday 8th September 2024.

Where are the Paralympics being held this year?

Based on a formal agreement first established in 2001 between the International Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee, the winner for any Summer Olympic bid must also host the Summer Paralympics. The Summer Olympics 2024 are currently being held in Paris, France, and the Paralympics will follow soon after. This is the first time that Paris will host the Paralympics in its history, but it’s the second time France will host the games, as the 1992 Winter Olympics were held in Tignes and Albertville.

How did the Paralympics first start?

Let’s set the scene. It was 1946, the world had just come out of World War II. Countries were being rebuilt, and civilisations were piecing back together any sense of normalcy that was once had before the world turned against each other. Then, a few like-minded people got together and thought – remember when we used to watch people throw javelins like...really far? Let’s get that going again.

Forward to July 1948, London kicked off the first games after a 12-year hiatus. In their bid to be leaders in innovation and progress, the London Olympics were the first to broadcast the events onto television sets. At the time, there were only around 100,000 television sets, most of them located in the London area, however it showed the potential of television to bring sporting events to larger audiences. In comparison, during the 2012 London Olympics, the BBC covered all sporting events and broadcast to 51.9 million people sat on sofas, eating crisps whilst proclaiming ‘I could do that’ and ‘It’s not even that hard’, each time Tom Daley took a dip in the pool.

Meanwhile, in Stoke Mandeville, located some 60km north of London, German neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttman was helping British World War II veterans in their rehabilitation. The group consisted of a Royal Air Force pilots with spinal cord injuries who made use of wheelchairs. Dr Guttman was inspired by the Olympics to organise sporting events for the injured soldiers with games such as netball and archery. This led to events for injured veterans being held internationally.

Just over 20 years later, Dr Antonio Maglio proposed a similar event to the Olympics, featuring athletes with disabilities. The 1960 games in Rome, 400 athletes were drawn from 23 countries to take part in the first ever Paralympics. However, there is still much more work to do for equality, there is a massive funding gap between Olympic and Paralympic athletes even during this year’s games.

What happens at the Paralympics opening and closing ceremonies?

The opening ceremony for the Olympics had everything. Queen Celine Dion. Boats. A woman dressed like a croissant. A sad man playing the piano in the rain. More boats. Lady Gaga moonlighting as a flamingo. What wasn’t to love?

But Paris hasn’t revealed all their cards for the Paralympics ceremonies yet. The ceremonies will be held at Place de la Concorde, situated between the Champs-Elysées and the Tuileries Gardens—just a short distance from the Assemblée Nationale and the Grand Palais. We do know that the opening ceremony is set to be inclusive and will ensure that universal accessibility is incorporated to allow all spectators and participants to enjoy the experience barrier-free.

But what to expect? Thomas Jolly, the Artistic Director for the ceremonies has stated:

“While the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony will be the first of its kind, its monumental and popular concept is, for me, first and foremost a magnificent source of inspiration. From the Champs-Elysées to Place de la Concorde, I look forward to creating this spectacle that will transform the heart of Paris, with performances that have never been seen before. A spectacle that will showcase the Paralympic athletes and the values that they embody. A spectacle that will unite spectators and television audiences worldwide around the unique spirit of the Paralympic Games.”

After the incredible display at the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics 2024, we are certainly looking forward to what the Paralympics ceremony will offer! (Betbeast’s office has 8:1 that feathers will be involved).

What sports are played in the Paralympics?

Para Archery: Para Archery was one of the eight sports at the first ever Paralympics that took place in Rome in 1960. This year competitors will be shooting for the podium at the Invalides. The target is 70m or 50m away, depending on the bow used, and athletes can either stand or sit whilst shooting. The target that scores the most points is the size of a CD on the 70m target, or the size of a cookie on the 50m. Pretty impressive if you ask me.

Boccia: Boccia is a sport played with 2 teams. Each team has a different set of 6 coloured balls, one team is red, whilst the other is blue. The teams take turns in throwing their ball into the middle of a playing area, trying to get their ball as close as they can to a white ball placed in the centre. Teams can knockout each others’ balls, and the team with the most balls closest to the white ball (called a Jack) wins! Athletes compete in wheelchairs and are split into 4 classes depending on how the impact of their impairments impact their ability to perform. This is the only sport that does not have an Olympic counterpart.

Goalball: Created by Hanz Lorenzen and Sepp Reindl in 1946, the sport was initially created to form part of the rehabilitation process for visually impaired World War II soldiers. The sport was eventually included in the 1976 Paralympics and has been included in each Paralympics since. The object of the game is to throw a ball past your opponents into the net behind them to score as many points as possible. Players play on their hands and knees, are in teams of 3, and are all visually impaired. The game is like handball as opposed to soccer, and the ball needs to be thrown with the hands, and not kicked.

Shooting Para Sport: After the Turkish shooter Yusef Dikec went viral after his cool Silver Olympic win this year, shooting has been put on the map as one to watch. Like archery, the aim of the game is to get as many shoots as close to the centre of the target as possible. Instead of bow and arrows, pistols and rifles are used, depending on your class.

Para Taekwondo: 120 athletes will compete in 10 medal events in this high contact sport. The main difference between Olympic Taekwondo and Paralympic Taekwondo? - Kicks to the head are not allowed in the Paralympic version. Either way, you will getting powerful kicks to your body so neither version particularly entices me, but each to their own!

Wheelchair Rugby: A mix between basketball, handball and rugby (duh), Wheelchair rugby is a full contact sport where teams compete to score tries by getting the ball across the opposing lines. This high-pressure game has time limits in which to get the ball, get to the other half, and score, which only adds to the excitement of the game.

Para Athletics: Almost one quarter of all Summer Paralympians compete in para-athletic events. Based on the sport classes, all athletes complete in throwing, running, racing & jumping events. These events are the most popular as fans stand by for new records to be made and broken!

Para Canoe: Using either a kayak or a va’a, athletes race 200 metres to the finish line across flat water. This individual sport is split between 2 classes, depending on how their impairments impact their ability to perform. The Paralympians will race in 10 medal events this summer.

Para Judo: This sport is split into 2 classes, J1 or J2. In J1, the judokas have varying degrees of vision impairment, from very limited, to completely blind and in J2 judokas have acute vision impairments. The classes are then split by weight and gender. The aim is to pin your opponent on their back for more than 20 seconds.

Sitting Volleyball: Two teams of six players try to score by bouncing the ball on the opposing team’s court. The court is smaller, and the net is lower than in Olympic volleyball. As the name suggests, players are sat down during the game, and use their feet to slide around the court to make contact with the ball.

Para Triathlon: 120 athletes will compete in 11 medal events made up of a 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometer cycling ride and a 5-kilometer run. All in a day’s work for these incredible Paralympians who will burn an astounding 10,000 calories throughout.

Wheelchair Tennis: Everything about this event is the same as their Olympic counterparts; the rules, the ball, the racquets, the court. The only difference is the ball is allowed to bounce twice, making it a highly entertaining sport to watch. The players play using a special wheelchair that allows them to make agile movements to reach the powerful serves from their opponents. Game, Set, Match!

Para Badminton: What is a badminton player’s favourite type of music? Shuttle rock! Anyone? No? Never mind. This event is split between 2 classes, those with lower limb impairments, and those with upper body impairments.

Para Cycling: A sport of endurance, explosive speed and tactics, Para Cycling is on either track or road, and split into several different classes and they use different bikes such as tandem, tricycle, handcycles and bicycles.

Para Powerlifting: One of the only sports with one sport class, athletes use a bench press to lift weights up to 3 times their own! Talk about superhumans!

Para Swimming: As one of the eight sports that was featured at the inaugural Paralympic games in 1960, swimming has long been a fan favourite. Over 600 athletes will compete in 141 different medal events in swimming styles such as Freestyle, Breaststroke, Backstroke & Butterly. Distances can be from 40m up to 400m, all within a standard Olympic size pool.

Wheelchair Basketball: Watch as two teams of five players each compete to score the most points on a standard basketball court. One of the main differences between basketball and wheelchair basketball is the travelling rule – the players must pass the ball after every 2 pushes in the wheelchair. Super exciting sport alert – the team at BetBeast recommends giving it a watch!

Blind Football: This 5-a-side game is played on a FIFA futsal-sized pitch, with a standard ball with bells inside so the visually impaired players can hear it. Each team has 3 sighted guides that help by shouting instructions or making a noise behind the goalpost, so the attack know where to shoot to score. Fun Fact: The crowd must be completely silent until the ball is out, or a goal is scored!

Para Equestrian: This is the only artistic sport at the games and is one of the hardest to master. The aim is to communicate movement instructions to the horse by making small gestures, movements, shift in weight etc. Therefore, the competitors and their horses must be completely in synch. In this sport, points are awarded for artistic expression as well as technical points.

Para Rowing: This sport involves 5 medal events with 104 athletes taking part in races across 2,000 metres on a boat using oars. The six-lane race requires massive strength and stamina and is one of the most impressive sports to watch.

Para Table Tennis: Part of the games since the inaugural Paralympic games in 1960, this sport will have you on the edge of your seat due to its fast and explosive rallies. Multiple sport classes, with men’s and women’s singles, doubles, or mixed-doubles competitions.

Wheelchair Fencing: This fast and fierce sport is split into three disciplines based on the type of weapon used – foil, epee and sabre. The aim is to heat your opponent with the weapon in the permitted target areas from your wheelchair. En Garde!

The Paralympic Medals

A medal ceremony will be held at the end of each event to present the athletes in first, second and third place with Paralympic medals. This year the medals will contain 18-gram hexagonal piece of iron that was once a part of the monumental Eiffel Tower. The pieces of iron have been cut from parts of the tower that have been replaced throughout the years. These pieces of metal will be melted down and infused with gold for first place medals, pure silver for second place, and bronze for third place. Each medal will feature the traditional Olympic rings, and Nike – the Greek goddess of victory. ‘Paris 2024’ will be inscribed on the back of the medals as well as written in braille.

How can I bet on the Paralympics 2024?

Simple! Log onto www.BetBeast.com/sports to discover our top odds for each of the Olympic sports. Bet on Most Medals, Most Gold Medals, Individual winners per sport and so much more!

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