PARIS, 20th May, 2024 (WAM) -- With 100 days until the Paralympics begin, Paris organizers are delivering a message from the athletes in a bid to boost ticket sales, “I am not missing anything, except you.”
The Associated Press reported that the countdown campaign for the 28th August to 8th September Paralympic Games begins Monday. It features three Paralympic athletes, each of them alone in an empty stadium. The campaign slogan — “Il ne me manque rien, sauf vous” (I’m not missing anything, except you) — is a rallying call to get people to come along and watch them competing.
The French athletes featured in the campaign are Arnaud Assoumani, a long jump and triple jump specialist who won gold at the 2008 Games in Beijing; wheelchair tennis player Pauline Déroulède, and blind soccer player Gaël Rivière who was a European championship winner two years ago. He plays at club level for Bondy Cécifoot Club — in the same suburb where France star Kylian Mbappé grew up.
National broadcaster France Télévisions will show the campaign in a bid to raise awareness and — ultimately — boost sales. So far, 900,000 of the 2.8 million tickets have been sold.
A total of 4,400 athletes will take part in the Paralympics. Tickets are available from 15 euros (US$16) for track and field sessions at Stade de France, wheelchair tennis at Roland Garros, or blind soccer at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. The finals cost from 25 euros (US$27) and it is 45 euros (US$49) to watch the closing ceremony.
Ticket sales could escalate once posters start appearing around Paris, with organizers aiming to raise awareness and increase fan engagement and solidarity.
There will be 651 posters dotted around the city, 972 on the subway and a further 2,520 on the sides of buses.