Why We Have to Wait 2 Whole Weeks for the Paralympics to Start

I don’t know about you, but watching the 2024 Olympics closing ceremony felt like waking up from a two-week-long trance during which I became a boxing buff, canoeing connoisseur, and Ilona Maher superfan. I laughed, I cried, and then cried some more as I watched so many dreams come true for tons of tremendous athletes. Luckily, we get to experience 12 more days of these special moments when the 4,400 Paralympic athletes take the stage—but that’s not happening for another couple of weeks. Why? It turns out there are several reasons for the delay between the Olympic and Paralympic games, despite the fact that they happen in exactly the same place.

Historically, the two-week gap ensured that workers had time to make the Village and competition spaces more accessible for the thousands of athletes (and their assistance dogs!), who all have varying disabilities, Craig Spence, chief brand and communications officer of the International Paralympic Committee, tells SELF. But thanks to progress in disability awareness and inclusion, everything is “created with accessibility in mind for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, so all the ramps and tactile flooring are there from the start.” In fact, nothing needs to be added or changed to make the space more inclusive.

However, a lot of the competition venues do need to be reconfigured for Paralympic-specific sports, Spence says. For example, some goalball games—a sport for visually impaired players that involves throwing a ball with bells into a cage—will be held in the same place where some of the Olympic handball courts were, which are about double the size. Similarly, volleyball courts are larger than those for sitting volleyball, which is nearly the same game but played with a lower net while seated on the floor. (Although this year, these sports are held in different areas, so it’s a non-issue.)

Plus the area that held the Olympic skateboard, breaking, and 3×3 basketball events has to be completely dismantled, removed, and rebuilt to host the Paralympic opening ceremony on August 28, Spence says. And the famous Olympic Rings have to be removed from all of the competition venues and replaced with the Paralympic Agitos, which means “I move” in Latin and is made up of three waves.