Everything you need to know about the twelve Paralympic Flames

Over four days of relays, with 1,000 torchbearers traversing 50 cities, the journey culminates in Paris. The Paralympic Torch Relay heralds the start of the Games' second act. It marks the resurgence of the Games, the revival of sports, and a rekindling of emotions. The Paralympic Games run from August 28 to September 8, and are being held in Paris for the first time. It's also your last chance to follow the Games in Paris.

For this Paralympic relay, twelve flames will go into action simultaneously. In Paris, the torchbearers will carry eleven flames to 22 locations and all the arrondissements, while the main flame from Great Britain will travel up Paris, passing through the Place de la Nation, the 11th arrondissement town hall, the Place de la République, the Place de la Bastille and the square in front of the Hôtel de Ville.

Twelve flames to symbolize the twelve days of competition! Each flame will highlight symbolic sites in the capital.

The Paralympic movement was born in 1948 in Stoke Mandeville, central UK. The aim was to speed up the recovery of paraplegic patients through sport. Initially reserved for British athletes, competitions gradually opened up until the first Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960.

Since 1988 and the first Paralympic Torch Relay, the lighting of the flame has taken place in Stoke Mandeville.

This will be the case once again on August 25, when the Paris Paralympic Games torch will be lit in this symbolic location. Once the flame arrives in Calais via the Channel Tunnel, other torches will be lit simultaneously throughout France, converging on Paris on Wednesday August 28. The torch relay will be part of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Paris, on August 25, 2024.

After this second highlight, the celebrations will continue for another two weeks of intense competition until the Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony on September 8, 2024.

"The Paralympic Torch Relay is a symbolic moment for highlighting para-sport," says Mona Francis, European para-triathlon champion and relay captain alongside Dimitri Pavadé, silver medallist at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in the long jump.

"The Paralympic Torch Relay will mobilize the whole of France in the run-up to the Paralympic Games! The torchbearers will rekindle the spirit of festivities and celebrations in preparation for a new medal race that promises to be enthralling. I've always been impressed by the performance of para-athletes, and the level promises to be exceptional," says Florent Manaudou, Olympic swimming champion and captain of the torch relay.

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To create the Olympic and Paralympic torch, French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, a former winner of the Grand Prix de la Création de la Ville de Paris, drew inspiration from three decisive markers: Equality, found in its perfect symmetry; Water, evoked in it's texture and light; and Soothing, with the purity of its shape and rounded edges.

Along with the logo and mascots, the Olympic and Paralympic Games share a torch with the same design, made entirely from recycled steel and manufactured in France.

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