The Paralympic Games Torch Relay stopped off at La Roche-sur-Yon before the cauldron was lit in central Paris on 25 August, 2024. Photo: AFP / Hans Lucas
The 2024 Paralympics begins on Thursday, and New Zealand have a small team heading over hoping to make big waves.
Long-serving athletics coach and administrator Raylene Bates is chef de mission for the New Zealand team said there was "a lot of vibe around the city" as they built up to the opening ceremony.
The excitement and hope round the Olympics had carried over to the Paralympics, she told First Up.
Champs Élysee and Place de la Concorde will be used for the athletes' procession on the opening day.
Bates is expecting a massive turnout.
"It's a wonderful foresight and gives such a wonderful opportunity for Paris 2024 to show off the city in
another light just like they did for the Olympics, so we're very excited for the opening."
Transport was proving a challenge although one train line had been made accessible to the main stadium and the Games Village.
All the venues had been made user friendly for disabled people from the start whereas in the past Olympics organisers had had to refit.
"Paris is an iconic city and it's an old city, so originally it wasn't built for wheelchairs etcetera but they've done really well to refit, refurbish and utilise existing facilities and buildings."
There is a 25-strong Kiwi team.
She said they were focused on the job they were in Paris for, with experienced campaigners like swimmer Cameron Leslie on his fourth Paralympian campaign and athlete Anna Grimaldi on her third.
The team's rookies were "soaking it up like a cloth" and it was cool to observe, she said.
Anna Grimaldi who competes on the track and in the long jump. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
