STOKE MANDEVILLE: Four days before the Paris Paralympic Games begins, the Paralympic flame on Saturday lit up 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 organized 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 organizing 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 signaled 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 organizers. 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. — AFP