STOKE MANDEVILLE, United Kingdom, Aug 24, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Four days before
the Paris Paralympic Games begins, the Paralympic flame will on Saturday be
lit next to the English hospital where the idea for the competition was born.

The Paralympic movement dates back to 1948, when German neurologist Ludwig
Guttmann organised sporting events for injured veterans at Stoke Mandeville
Hospital, northwest of London.

The Stoke Mandeville Games were held to coincide with the 1948 London
Olympics on grounds next to the hospital, which were then developed into the
stadium where Saturday's ceremony will take place.

The first Paralympic Games took place in Rome in 1960, with 400 athletes
competing from 23 countries.

The torch-lighting ceremony will take place at midday Saturday, and will be
attended by Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 organising committee,
and Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee.

It will be the first time since the London Olympics in 2012 that the
Paralympic flame will be lit at its Stoke Mandeville home.

Two British Paralympians, Helene Raynsford and Gregor Ewan, will light the
famous torch.

Raynsford was the first Paralympic champion in para-rowing when the sport
made its debut in Beijing in 2008. Ewan has competed in wheelchair curling
three times at the Winter Games.

The flame will pass through the Channel Tunnel on Sunday, with 24 British
torchbearers taking it halfway, before handing it over to 24 French
torchbearers, who will take it to Calais.

Then 12 torches will travel across France from Sunday to Wednesday. The flame
will then reach Paris and the Olympic cauldron, located in the Tuileries
Gardens.

A thousand torchbearers will take turns in around 50 cities.

The main flame coming from Stoke Mandeville will pass through Calais, Arras,
Amiens, Louviers and Chambly before arriving in the Paris region.

The Paralympic Games, making their debut in France, will begin on August 28
with an opening ceremony between the Champs-Elysees and the Place de la
Concorde orchestrated, like those that signalled the start of the Olympic
Games in July, by artistic director Thomas Jolly.

Some 2.5 million tickets have been put on sale for the event. As of
Wednesday, just over 1.75 million had gone with around a dozen sports almost
sold out, according to organisers.

Around 4,400 athletes will compete in 549 events, which will take place in 18
competition sites, including 16 identical to their Olympic counterparts.

These include the Grand Palais, the Chateau de Versailles and the Stade de
France.