Greatest Show on Earth (Pt II)
Circus comes to Tokyo as Paralympians get royal seal of approval
THE Paralympic Games launched in a spectacular blaze of fireworks, music and acrobatic dancers yesterday.
More than 4,000 Paralympians gathered in Covid-hit Tokyo for a surreal Cirque du Soleil-style opening ceremony which celebrated them as champions and role models.
Although the three-hour extravaganza was performed to an empty Olympic stadium, that didn’t stop senior royals back in the UK from sending messages of support.
Performers such as 13-year-old wheelchair user Yui Wago and an acrobat who juggled his own prosthetic leg were among those to take part in the spectacle.
And the ceremony, which has already faced obstacles due to the coronavirus pandemic, also paid homage to Japan’s health workers as well as the missing team from Afghanistan.
A volunteer carried the Afghan flag into the stadium after the Taliban’s advance left Paralympians there unable to travel. Powerlifter Parwana, who uses a wheelchair, was among those trapped in Kabul along with her husband Yama, a British translator.
But Afghan-born swimmer Abbas Karimi, who was born without arms, was a flag-bearer for the six-strong Refugee Paralympic Team, alongside Syrian-born Alia Issa, a smallpox survivor and the team’s first female member.
Their team led the ‘Parade of Nations’ as the 162 national flags were carried into the stadium.
Swimmer Ellie Simmonds, 26, and archer John Stubbs, 56, carried the flag for Great Britain – representing a squad of 227 athletes.
Mr Stubbs – whose leg was amputated following a motorbike crash – said the build-up to the Games had given aspiring Paralympians ‘a meaning for life’ during the chaos of the pandemic and multiple
‘Proudest moment of my life’
national lockdowns. And Miss Simmonds, a five-time gold medallist, said it was ‘one of the proudest moments of my life.’
Among those celebrating the start of the Games were the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who posted: ‘Wishing ParalympicsGB and all the athletes from around the world the best of luck in this year’s Paralympics.
‘We can’t wait to see the talent and skill displayed over the next two weeks. #ImpossibleToIgnore.’
Prince Edward, patron of ParalympicsGB, sent a video message saying: ‘We want you to go out there and achieve your best, make us proud, and inspire the next generation of athletes with a disability.’
International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons dubbed the Games ‘the most transformative event on Earth’. Speaking to the assembled athletes, he added: ‘If the world has ever labelled you, now is your time to be relabelled... You are the best of humanity.’