Paris boosts accessibility during the World Para Athletic Championships

It's a bright day as Alain Amsellem steps out of the Cité Universitaire RER station. Immediately, he whips out his phone: "Where do I click to get to the stadium?" asks the 69-year-old Parisian who is a member of the APF France Handicap association and gets around on a wheelchair.
Like him, on Monday July 10th, a dozen members from different disabled people's associations tested out the Ezymob app, a "universal guidance solution" set up by the City of Paris for the Para Athletics World Championships being held until July 17th at the Charléty stadium (13th arrondissement). They were also there to assess the event's accessibility and its facilities.

A panel made up of members from these associations has been regularly called upon by Paris in the run-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Their advice and experiences are being used to assess and find new solutions to enhance accessibility, both for the major sporting events of 2024 and for the everyday life after the Games.

Some of these solutions could be used at the Paris 2024 Games.

Innovation first: the app guides its users step-by-step from their starting point to the stadium. But it also does a bit more as well. "We've entered stadium maps and the surrounding area into the app," explains Robin Le Gal, co-founder of Ezymob. People with visual impairments or intellectual disabilities can also use it, with help from a voice mode. "For people with hearing impairments, sound guidance can be very useful," adds Cédric Lorant, president of the Union des associations nationales pour l'inclusion des malentendants et des sourds (Unanimes).

As soon as you enter the stadium, the app's guidance takes you to a single disabled access point, giving direct, step-free access to the stadium.

The path then continues to dedicated disabled areas. For the event, a platform for wheelchair users was built with added space for assistants and helpers. The City of Paris also increased the number of disabililty spaces and seats at Charléty by creating new ones and adding new accessible toilets.

Despite the progress, the visiting associations still saw room for improvement. "We could also have subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on the big screen or sign language transcription," suggests Cédric Lorant.

"I'm just getting to grips with this guidance application," explains Alain Amsellem, who is paying a lot of attention to the site's accessibility (pathways, toilets, stands, access to catering areas…). Anything that allows disabled people to be more autonomous is a good thing. As for Julien Rondet, project manager at the Centre de ressources Autisme Île-de-France (CRAIF), he hopes that "rest areas" will be available at Olympic venues for people with autism who need to find a quiet zone during events.

In the stands, another innovation is being tested during the World Championships; some twenty viewing headsets are being offered out by the Give Vision company. "This technology has been around since 2015 and has been tested for sporting events since 2022," explains Elodie Draperi, co-founder of Give Vision. They are made for visually impaired spectators, allowing them to follow competitions in real time using their residual vision, like binoculars.

Bertrand, 59, appreciates the initiative: "I'm visually impaired, and I can't see anything more than 10 meters away," he says, "with these helmets, I can see the 100-meter runners from the stands".

Cissé is also tried out the headset: "It's great! I've been visually impaired since birth," she explains. "I love basketball and handball, but I can't enjoy matches ; I can only see shapes from a distance. Now I can enjoy the event".

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